Black Sands, HI
Black Sands wildfire risk explained
Black Sands sits at the 94th 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 190 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Black Sands at the 92nd national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Black Sands's buildings actually sit
Direct exposure dominates in Black Sands: 75.8% of its 190 buildings, versus 24.2% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
How Black Sands compares
Black Sands ranks lower within Hawaii (66th percentile statewide) than its 94th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Black Sands ranks 1,950 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,232 by building count (1 is largest). Within Hawaii alone, it ranks 56 of 163 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Hawaii on its state page.
Black Sands and the insurance market
Black Sands's 94th-percentile, very high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 75.8% of Black Sands 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.
Where Black Sands's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 190 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Black Sands. The exposure-zones guide covers what Black Sands's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.