Bethel Island, CA
Bethel Island wildfire risk explained
Bethel Island sits at the 90th 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 1,782 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Bethel Island at the 91st national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Bethel Island's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS classifies 50.7% of Bethel Island's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 39.1% Indirect share and far above its 10.2% Minimal share — a profile where 904 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Bethel Island against the rest of the country
Inside California, Bethel Island sits at just the 62nd percentile even though it scores 90th 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, Bethel Island ranks 3,109 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,117 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 599 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Bethel Island and the insurance market
Bethel Island's 90th-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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Bethel Island (50.7%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Bethel Island's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,782 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Bethel Island. The exposure-zones guide covers what Bethel Island's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.