Avila Beach, CA
Avila Beach wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Avila Beach lands at the 96th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 1,253 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Avila Beach's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 95th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
55.1% of Avila Beach's 1,253 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 690 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 44.9% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where Avila Beach ranks
Inside California, Avila Beach sits at just the 76th percentile even though it scores 96th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Avila Beach ranks 1,343 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,329 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 381 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
Avila Beach sits in California, one of two states that legally require a wildfire-risk disclosure at sale. California's FAIR Plan, the state's insurer of last resort, ended 2025 with 668,609 residential policies after adding 21,859 in Q4 alone — the kind of market shift a 96th-percentile score like Avila Beach's can end up mattering for. More on the disclosure law.
Hardening a home in Avila Beach
Because Direct exposure dominates in Avila Beach (55.1%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Avila Beach's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Avila Beach's 1,343-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Avila Beach's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.