Alta Sierra (Kern), CA
How exposed is Alta Sierra (Kern) to wildfire?
Alta Sierra (Kern)'s 192 buildings earn a 99th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Alta Sierra (Kern)'s burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 99th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Of Alta Sierra (Kern)'s 192 counted buildings, 91.2% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Where Alta Sierra (Kern) ranks
Alta Sierra (Kern)'s risk sits at a similar level relative to California (88th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (99th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Alta Sierra (Kern) ranks 400 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,151 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 190 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Alta Sierra (Kern)'s 99th-percentile score lands in California, the only two states requiring a wildfire disclosure at sale. California's surplus-lines homeowners market passed 300,000 policies for the first time in 2025, driven by carriers pulling back from wildfire-exposed areas statewide. The disclosure-law guide covers what it requires.
What would actually reduce this score
Alta Sierra (Kern)'s 91.2% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Alta Sierra (Kern)'s figures come from
Alta Sierra (Kern)'s 99th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Alta Sierra (Kern)'s dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.