Bell Canyon, CA
Bell Canyon wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Bell Canyon lands at the 91st percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 858 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 Bell Canyon at the 89th percentile, close to its 91st-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
84.2% of Bell Canyon's 858 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 722 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 15.9% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where Bell Canyon ranks
Bell Canyon ranks lower within California (63rd percentile statewide) than its 91st national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Bell Canyon ranks 2,918 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 13,099 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 580 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Bell Canyon
Bell Canyon's 91st-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 Bell Canyon
With 84.2% of Bell Canyon in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Bell Canyon's 91st-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 Bell Canyon, see the exposure-zones guide.