California, PA
California, PA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts California at the 35th national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 2,138 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts California at the 37th percentile, close to its 35th-percentile risk score.
California's building exposure, zone by zone
Indirect exposure is dominant in California (59.6% of 2,138 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 40.4% sit in the Direct zone.
How California compares
California's 50th-percentile standing inside Pennsylvania outpaces its 35th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, California ranks 20,467 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,099 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 992 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
California and the insurance market
At the 35th national percentile, California rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in California (59.6% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,138 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for California. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond California, see the exposure-zones guide.