Half Moon Bay, CA
Half Moon Bay, CA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Half Moon Bay at the 81st national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 4,786 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Half Moon Bay's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 82nd percentile nationally.
Half Moon Bay's building exposure, zone by zone
4,786 buildings are counted in Half Moon Bay, and 86.3% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 13.7% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
Half Moon Bay against the rest of the country
Inside California, Half Moon Bay sits at just the 42nd percentile even though it scores 81st 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, Half Moon Bay ranks 5,952 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 3,563 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 912 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Half Moon Bay
Because Half Moon Bay 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.
Hardening a home in Half Moon Bay
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Half Moon Bay (86.3% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Half Moon Bay's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 4,786 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Half Moon Bay. The exposure-zones guide covers what Half Moon Bay's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.