Beckwourth, CA
How exposed is Beckwourth to wildfire?
Beckwourth sits at the 99th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 503 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Beckwourth at the 98th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Beckwourth's buildings actually sit
95.4% of Beckwourth's 503 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 480 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 4.6% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Beckwourth against the rest of the country
Beckwourth's risk sits at a similar level relative to California (87th 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, Beckwourth ranks 466 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,280 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 212 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Beckwourth and the insurance market
Beckwourth 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 99th-percentile score like Beckwourth's can end up mattering for. More on the disclosure law.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Beckwourth (95.4%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 503 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Beckwourth. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Beckwourth, see the exposure-zones guide.