California Pines, CA
California Pines wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts California Pines at the 88th national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 368 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 Pines at the 89th percentile, close to its 88th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 87.2% of California Pines's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 12% Indirect share and far above its 0.8% Minimal share — a profile where 321 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Where California Pines ranks
California Pines ranks lower within California (56th percentile statewide) than its 88th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, California Pines ranks 3,866 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,897 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 686 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
California Pines 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 88th-percentile score like California Pines's can end up mattering for. More on the disclosure law.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in California Pines (87.2%), 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 368 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for California Pines. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond California Pines, see the exposure-zones guide.