Avalon, CA
Avalon wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Avalon lands at the 97th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 1,079 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Avalon at the 95th percentile, close to its 97th-percentile risk score.
Where Avalon's buildings actually sit
Indirect exposure is dominant in Avalon (83.3% of 1,079 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 16.5% sit in the Direct zone.
Avalon against the rest of the country
Avalon ranks lower within California (78th percentile statewide) than its 97th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Avalon ranks 1,093 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,407 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 343 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Avalon and the insurance market
Avalon's 97th-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.
Hardening a home in Avalon
Avalon's 83.3% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Avalon's 97th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Avalon, see the exposure-zones guide.