El Macero, CA
El Macero, CA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, El Macero lands at the 51st percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 446 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks El Macero at the 50th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Of El Macero's 446 counted buildings, 59.2% carry Direct exposure and only 26% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
How El Macero compares
El Macero ranks lower within California (12th percentile statewide) than its 51st national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, El Macero ranks 15,369 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,342 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 1,390 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
El Macero and the insurance market
Because El Macero 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
El Macero's 59.2% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where El Macero's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 446 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for El Macero. The exposure-zones guide covers what El Macero's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.