Elk Creek, CA
Elk Creek, CA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Elk Creek lands at the 99th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 172 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Elk Creek's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 99th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Indirect exposure is dominant in Elk Creek (54.1% of 172 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 45.9% sit in the Direct zone.
Elk Creek against the rest of the country
Elk Creek scores 99th nationally and 90th within California — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Elk Creek ranks 305 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,927 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 158 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
Elk Creek's 99th-percentile score lands in California, the only two states requiring a wildfire disclosure at sale. California's surplus-lines homeowners market passed 300,000 policies for the first time in 2025, driven by carriers pulling back from wildfire-exposed areas statewide. The disclosure-law guide covers what it requires.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because 54.1% of Elk Creek's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Elk Creek's 305-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Elk Creek, see the exposure-zones guide.