Photo: Adqproductions · CC BY-SA 3.0Wildfire low, radon 2.8%: how Saint-Bruno stands on hazards
Fire seldom reaches Saint-Bruno: since 1986, 0.1% of the land within 25 km has burned (0.001% a year). Shaking is a bigger worry than in most places, at $0.24 a year per $1,000 of building value ($0.030 typical). Saint-Bruno grades C+ for hazard risk; wildfire is low here, so it earns no credit.
What stands out about Saint-Bruno’s hazards
For Saint-Bruno, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Saint-Bruno faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Hazard risk in Saint-Bruno: C+
Risk averages earthquakes and radon; wildfire joins only where it pulls the average down, so a town like Saint-Bruno with little fire nearby would get no credit for it.
Its place: #110 of 507 in Quebec and #1,810 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: The seismic figure is a long-run average from NRCan’s model, not a prediction. The radon share rests on 72 home tests in the survey area, so a few homes move it. The burned-area record misses fires under about 10 ha and most grass and farm fires.
Wildfire is rare near Saint-Bruno: 0.1% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986, 0% within 5 km
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Saint-Bruno’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
Saint-Bruno burns at 0.001% a year, low against 0.000% for the typical Canadian town.
Saint-Bruno’s homes have had no fire within 5 km since 1986; the closest was 11 km away.
Forest fuel covers 20% of the land close to Saint-Bruno and 58% across 25 km.
Shares of land within 5 and 25 km of populated blocks: burned at least once in 1986–2025 (CWFIS burned-area composite), forest fuel and grass (fire behaviour fuel types, 2026, 250 m grid).
Burn rate a year, towns in Quebec · highest of 513
Saint-Bruno burns at 0.001% a year, 136th of 513 towns in Quebec; the leader, Mistissini, reaches 0.31%.
Each bar: the yearly average share of land within 25 km of a town’s homes that burned, 1986–2025 (CWFIS); the seven highest towns of 2,500 people or more.
7.5% of Canada’s 2,610 towns burn fast enough to rank moderate or above; Saint-Bruno stays low, with 92%.
Bands of the yearly burn rate: low under 0.05%, moderate under 0.25%, high under 1%, very high 1% or more; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Canadian Wildland Fire Information System: National Burned Area Composite 1986–2025 and fire behaviour fuel types (2026), Natural Resources Canada. Measured within 25 km and 5 km of each populated dissemination area; past fire, not a forecast.
The flood map inventory lists nothing for Saint-Bruno
Flood studies whose area touches Saint-Bruno, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
Canada’s Flood Map Inventory lists no study whose area touches Saint-Bruno, which doesn’t mean it has never been mapped.
Towns with a flood study on file
Mapping in Quebec reaches 45% of towns, below the 58% across Canada, and not Saint-Bruno.
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Flood studies don’t enter the grade; they are listed so you can open the official map for Saint-Bruno.
The inventory’s own caution (NRCan): “The Canada Flood Map (CFM) does not include every flood hazard map in Canada and may be incomplete or contain inaccuracies. It should not be relied upon as the official source of flood mapping information. Furthermore, if a map appears to be missing, this does not necessarily mean that the area has never been mapped. For the official version of a map, updated information, or confirmation of applicable regulations, please contact the local authority responsible for flood mapping.”
High seismic risk in Saint-Bruno: $0.24 per $1,000 of buildings a year
NRCan’s seismic risk model: the damage shaking is expected to do to buildings each year, on average over many years.
The typical town loses $0.030 a year to shaking; Saint-Bruno loses $0.24, 8.1 times as much.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
At $0.24, Saint-Bruno is above the typical town in Quebec ($0.14); La Pocatière has the most at $0.48.
NRCan seismic risk model (2022): mean yearly building loss per $1,000 of value; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Only 6.2% of Canada’s 2,611 towns expect more shaking damage than Saint-Bruno.
Each column: the share of Canada’s towns of 2,500 people or more in that range of yearly loss per $1,000 (NRCan, 2022).
Only shaking damage to buildings in Saint-Bruno is counted; landslides, liquefaction, tsunami and fire after a quake aren’t.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean).
Radon runs low around Saint-Bruno: 2.8% of tested homes over the guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline. · Radon tests for the Saguenay - Lac-Saint-Jean health region
Radon runs below the typical Canadian town (6.6%) in Saint-Bruno’s area, at 2.8%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
Below the typical town in Quebec (8.2%) at 2.8%, the area around Saint-Bruno still had 1.4% of tests over 600 Bq/m³.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Saint-Bruno is in the lowest band, with 37% of Canada’s 2,611 towns: under 5% of tests over the guideline, while 63% have more.
Each bar: the share of Canada’s towns of 2,500 people or more whose survey area had that share of tests over 200 Bq/m³.
Neighbouring homes in Saint-Bruno can differ a lot; only a long-term test tells you about yours.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011).
Where to get warnings in Saint-Bruno
Alerts for Saint-Bruno come from Environment and Climate Change Canada and, for emergencies, Alert Ready.
| Alert | What it means |
|---|---|
| Warning | Severe weather is happening or about to: act now. |
| Watch | Conditions favour severe weather: be ready. |
| Advisory | Weather that is less severe but could disrupt the day. |
| Special weather statement | Unusual weather worth knowing about. |
| Special air quality statement | Poor air, often wildfire smoke. |
Evacuation orders for Saint-Bruno come from the municipality or the province, while CWFIS maps fire danger every day.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
How Saint-Bruno’s neighbours compare on hazards
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Bruno | Low | $0.24 | 2.8% | None listed |
| Hébertville-Station 1,298 · 3.1 km | Low | $0.27 | 2.8% | None listed |
| Saint-Gédéon 2,349 · 7.5 km | Low | $0.22 | 2.8% | None listed |
| Alma 30,659 · 9.2 km | Low | $0.22 | 2.8% | None listed |
| Hébertville 2,588 · 9.5 km | Low | $0.20 | 2.8% | Yes |
| Larouche 1,734 · 10 km | Low | $0.20 | 2.8% | None listed |
| Saint-Nazaire 2,167 · 13 km | Low | $0.21 | 2.8% | None listed |
Larouche burns a little more than Saint-Bruno, in the same low band (low here).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Saint-Bruno faces
What to do about the hazards Saint-Bruno faces, and what to ask before you buy.
- Test for three months in winter.
- Over 200 Bq/m³: fix it.
- Kits are cheap; pros test too.
- Never drive through floodwater.
- Move papers and medicines upstairs.
- Ask whether your street is mapped.
- Drop, cover and hold on.
- Strap the water heater down.
- Keep 72 hours of supplies.
- Has it had a radon test?
- Ask the municipality for flood maps.
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
- Is earthquake cover included?
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Saint-Bruno’s included.
- Wildfire counts one way. Burned land within 25 km of where people live, averaged over 1986–2025 and checked for fuel near homes, is the measure; it looks back, not ahead, and only ever counts against Saint-Bruno.
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. Flood studies cover areas of every size, which is why the page lists them for Saint-Bruno without grading them.
- Radon is a survey. Radon figures pool the survey’s home tests by area: postal areas once their boundaries arrive, the 2007 health region around Saint-Bruno until then.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Saint-Bruno
How is Saint-Bruno’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Hazard risk gives Saint-Bruno C+, weighing earthquakes and radon and counting wildfire only against it.
Is Saint-Bruno at risk of wildfire?
Fire has reached 0.1% of the land around Saint-Bruno since 1986 (last in 2022); at low, it neither helps nor hurts the grade.
Does Saint-Bruno flood?
With 0 studies on the inventory, Saint-Bruno’s flood risk is unmapped nationally; check with the municipality before buying.
How big is the earthquake risk in Saint-Bruno?
About $0.24 a year per $1,000 of building value, NRCan’s long-run expectation for Saint-Bruno.
Is radon a problem in Saint-Bruno?
Around Saint-Bruno, 72 survey homes were tested and 2.8% came in over 200 Bq/m³, a guide to the area, not to any one home.
Seismic risk: Natural Resources Canada. Radon: Health Canada. Wildfire: Canadian Wildland Fire Information System. Flood studies: Natural Resources Canada, Canada Flood Map Inventory. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada.
Sources: NRCan, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model 2022 · Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes · CWFIS, National Burned Area Composite and FBP fuel types · NRCan, Canada Flood Map Inventory. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).