Alta Sierra (Nevada), CA
How exposed is Alta Sierra (Nevada) to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Alta Sierra (Nevada) lands at the 98th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 3,359 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Alta Sierra (Nevada)'s burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 97th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
97.1% of Alta Sierra (Nevada)'s 3,359 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 3,262 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 2.9% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Alta Sierra (Nevada) against the rest of the country
Alta Sierra (Nevada)'s risk sits at a similar level relative to California (84th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (98th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Alta Sierra (Nevada) ranks 590 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 4,974 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 247 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Alta Sierra (Nevada) and the insurance market
Because Alta Sierra (Nevada) is in California, a wildfire-hazard disclosure is legally required before a sale closes here — unusual nationally, since only these two states mandate it. The state's FAIR Plan alone carried 668,609 policies by the end of 2025. Full detail in the disclosure-law guide.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Alta Sierra (Nevada)'s 97.1% 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.
More on how this number was built
Alta Sierra (Nevada)'s 98th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Alta Sierra (Nevada), see the exposure-zones guide.