Cowan, CA
Cowan, CA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Cowan lands at the 79th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 227 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Cowan's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 79th percentile nationally.
Cowan's building exposure, zone by zone
Direct exposure dominates in Cowan: 78% of its 227 buildings, versus 0% Indirect and 22% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Cowan against the rest of the country
Cowan ranks lower within California (38th percentile statewide) than its 79th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Cowan ranks 6,703 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 23,880 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 969 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
Because Cowan 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.
What would actually reduce this score
With 78% of Cowan 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.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Cowan's 6,703-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Cowan, see the exposure-zones guide.