Baker, CA
Baker wildfire risk explained
Baker sits at the 11th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 404 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Baker at the 20th national percentile — 9 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS puts 96% of Baker's 404 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 4% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Baker against the rest of the country
Baker scores 11th nationally and 1st within California — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Baker ranks 28,070 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,132 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 1,561 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
Because Baker 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Because 96% of Baker's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Baker's figures come from
Baker's 11th-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 Baker's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.