Photo: Julia Adamson SriMesh talk · CC BY 2.5Few places are as safe from hazards as Caswell Hill: it beats 91% of Canadian towns
Wildfire is rare near Caswell Hill: 0.4% of the land within 25 km has burned since 1986, a burn rate of 0.009% a year. Seismic risk runs low: $0.006 of expected damage per $1,000 of buildings a year, the typical town $0.030. Caswell Hill’s survey area, 6.6% over the radon guideline, is close to the typical town’s 6.6%. Caswell Hill grades A for hazard risk, with wildfire counted against it.
What stands out about Caswell Hill’s hazards
For Caswell Hill, from NRCan’s seismic model, Health Canada’s radon survey, the national burned-area record and the flood map inventory.
What Caswell Hill faces
Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.
Wildfire
Earthquakes
Radon
Flood study
Caswell Hill grades A for hazard risk
Earthquake risk and radon make Caswell Hill’s grade; wildfire can only lower it, never raise it, and flood studies are listed but not scored.
Its place: #9 of 104 in Saskatchewan and #299 of 2,589 Canadian towns.
How sure: The seismic figure is a long-run average from NRCan’s model, not a prediction. Only 76 homes were tested in the survey area, so the radon share is rough. The burned-area record misses fires under about 10 ha and most grass and farm fires.
Few fires near Caswell Hill: 0% within 5 km, 0.4% within 25 km
Fires mapped since 1986 around where Caswell Hill’s residents live, and the fuel next to their homes.
Caswell Hill burns at 0.009% a year, low against 0.000% for the typical Canadian town.
The 5 km ring around Caswell Hill’s homes is clear of burns since 1986, the nearest 23 km out.
Forest makes up 0% of the land within 5 km of Caswell Hill and 0% within 25 km, little for a forest fire to run through.
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 Saskatchewan · highest of 104
In the upper half in Saskatchewan but far from La Loche (1.94%): Caswell Hill ranks 33rd of 104, at 0.009% a year.
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.
Some fire is mapped around Caswell Hill, but not enough to leave the low band, where 92% of Canada’s 2,610 towns are; 7.5% rank higher.
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.
Caswell Hill is on the flood map inventory: 1 study, by Water Security Agency
Flood studies whose area touches Caswell Hill, from NRCan’s inventory, each linked to its owner.
One study on the inventory touches Caswell Hill, Water Security Agency’s from 2024, and its area can be large, so it says a map exists, not that the town floods.
| Study | By | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Saskatoon Flood Mapping Study | Water Security Agency | 2024 | final |
Towns with a flood study on file
Its flood study sets Caswell Hill apart in Saskatchewan, where 55% of towns have one (Canada: 58%).
NRCan Canada Flood Map Inventory: a study footprint touching the town’s boundary; towns of 2,500 people or more.
Flood is shown here, never graded: a study says where a map exists, not how many of Caswell Hill’s homes stand in a flood zone.
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.”
Natural Resources Canada, Canada Flood Map Inventory; links go to each study’s owner.
Earthquakes cost buildings in Caswell Hill just $0.006 per $1,000 a year
NRCan’s seismic risk model: the damage shaking is expected to do to buildings each year, on average over many years.
At $0.006 per $1,000, Caswell Hill carries 0.2 times the typical Canadian town’s earthquake risk ($0.030): low.
For earthquake risk, the only official count covers all of the city of Saskatoon, Caswell Hill included.
Shaking damage a year per $1,000 of building value
Neither high nor low in Saskatchewan: Caswell Hill’s $0.006 sits by the median of $0.006, while Weyburn reaches $0.033.
NRCan seismic risk model (2022): mean yearly building loss per $1,000 of value; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Most of Canada’s 2,611 towns (88%) face more earthquake damage than Caswell Hill.
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).
What a quake does after the shaking, fire, landslides, tsunami, falls outside NRCan’s figure for Caswell Hill.
Natural Resources Canada, Canada’s Seismic Risk Model (2022), by census subdivision (2016 boundaries; a few 2021 subdivisions take their residents’ mean).
Radon about average around Caswell Hill: 6.6% over the guideline
Health Canada’s survey of long-term home tests: the share above the 200 Bq/m³ guideline.
6.6% of tested homes around Caswell Hill were over the guideline, much like the typical Canadian town at 6.6%.
Tested homes over 200 Bq/m³
Over 600 Bq/m³
The median in Saskatchewan is 9.1% over 200 Bq/m³; around Caswell Hill it is 6.6%.
Health Canada radon survey (2009–2011), by 2007 health region; medians of towns of 2,500 people or more.
Between 5% and 10% of tests over the guideline: Caswell Hill, and 37% of Canada’s 2,611 towns; 26% are higher.
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.
Whatever Caswell Hill’s area share, the reading that matters is your own home’s, over a winter.
Health Canada, Cross-Canada Survey of Radon Concentrations in Homes (2009–2011). · Area behind the radon tests figures: the Saskatoon RHA
Where to get warnings in Caswell Hill
Environment and Climate Change Canada issues the weather alerts for Caswell Hill; Alert Ready carries the urgent ones to phones, radio and TV.
| 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. |
Smoke and fire warnings for Caswell Hill come through Environment Canada and Alert Ready; the fire map is CWFIS’s.
Weather alerts (ECCC) · Alert Ready · Fire danger and active fires (CWFIS)
Hazards in the places around Caswell Hill
The same four hazards for the places next door.
| Town | Wildfire | Quake $/1,000 | Radon | Flood study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caswell Hill | Low | $0.006 | 6.6% | Yes |
| Mayfair 2,927 · 0.9 km | Low | $0.006 | 6.6% | None listed |
| Westmount 2,872 · 1.0 km | Low | $0.006 | 6.6% | Yes |
| Mount Royal 5,292 · 1.4 km | Low | $0.006 | 6.6% | None listed |
| Central Business District 4,987 · 1.6 km | Low | $0.006 | 6.6% | Yes |
| City Park 3,827 · 1.7 km | Low | $0.006 | 6.6% | Yes |
| Pleasant Hill 6,088 · 1.8 km | Low | $0.006 | 6.6% | Yes |
The fire record around Central Business District is a touch heavier than Caswell Hill’s, but the band is the same: low (here low).
Radon is the survey area’s figure, so neighbours in one area share it.
Get ready for what Caswell Hill faces
Practical steps for Caswell Hill’s hazards, most pressing first.
- 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.
- Clear needles and wood nearby.
- Keep a grab-and-go bag ready.
- In smoke, stay in; filter air.
- Has it had a radon test?
- Check the address on the flood map.
- Are flood and wildfire insured?
What this data can and can’t tell you
- 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 Caswell Hill.
- Radon is a survey. The radon share comes from about 14,000 long-term home tests in 2009–2011, pooled for now by the 2007 health region Caswell Hill sits in.
- Flood studies aren’t flood zones. A study’s area can be a whole watershed or province, so being on the inventory says a map exists, not that a home in Caswell Hill floods.
- Earthquakes are modelled. The earthquake figure is an expected loss, not a forecast, worked out by NRCan for each census subdivision, Caswell Hill’s included.
Questions about flooding and hazards in Caswell Hill
How is Caswell Hill’s Hazard risk Grade worked out?
Caswell Hill grades A for hazard risk, from earthquakes and radon, with wildfire counted only where it lowers the grade.
Is Caswell Hill at risk of wildfire?
Not much by Canadian standards: Caswell Hill’s band is low, with 0.4% of the land within 25 km burned since 1986 (last in 2023), so wildfire doesn’t change its grade.
Is radon a problem in Caswell Hill?
6.6% of the 76 homes Health Canada tested around Caswell Hill topped the guideline; your own house needs its own test.
Does Caswell Hill flood?
Caswell Hill’s area has been studied for flooding, and the owner’s map shows which streets lie in a zone; the grade leaves flood out.
How big is the earthquake risk in Caswell Hill?
Expected earthquake damage in Caswell Hill comes to $0.006 a year for each $1,000 that buildings are worth.
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).