Guerneville, CA
How exposed is Guerneville to wildfire?
USFS scores Guerneville at the 75th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 3,386 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Guerneville at the 75th percentile, close to its 75th-percentile risk score.
Where Guerneville's buildings actually sit
Direct exposure dominates in Guerneville: 77% of its 3,386 buildings, versus 23% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Guerneville against the rest of the country
Guerneville ranks lower within California (34th percentile statewide) than its 75th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Guerneville ranks 7,752 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 4,933 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 1,043 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Guerneville and the insurance market
Because Guerneville 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
Because Direct exposure dominates in Guerneville (77%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Guerneville's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 3,386 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Guerneville. The exposure-zones guide covers what Guerneville's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.