Grayson, CA
Grayson wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Grayson lands at the 80th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 312 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Grayson at the 80th percentile, close to its 80th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Indirect exposure is dominant in Grayson (82.1% of 312 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 18% sit in the Direct zone.
Grayson against the rest of the country
Inside California, Grayson sits at just the 40th percentile even though it scores 80th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Grayson ranks 6,420 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 21,309 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 944 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Grayson and the insurance market
Grayson's 80th-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
Grayson's 82.1% 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.
Where Grayson's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 312 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Grayson. The exposure-zones guide covers what Grayson's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.