Cartago, CA
Cartago wildfire risk explained
Cartago's 94 buildings earn a 72nd-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — well above the national norm for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Cartago's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 66th percentile nationally.
Cartago's building exposure, zone by zone
57.5% of Cartago's 94 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 42.6% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Cartago against the rest of the country
Cartago ranks lower within California (30th percentile statewide) than its 72nd national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Cartago ranks 8,939 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 29,298 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 1,107 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Cartago and the insurance market
Because Cartago is in California, a wildfire-hazard disclosure is legally required before a sale closes here — unusual nationally, since only these two states mandate it. The state's FAIR Plan alone carried 668,609 policies by the end of 2025. Full detail in the disclosure-law guide.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Cartago's 57.5% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Cartago's 72nd-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Cartago, see the exposure-zones guide.