Hawthorne, CA
Hawthorne wildfire risk explained
Hawthorne sits at the 35th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 17,142 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Hawthorne's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 45th percentile nationally.
Where Hawthorne's buildings actually sit
99.9% of Hawthorne's 17,142 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 0.2% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself. At 17,142 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Where Hawthorne ranks
Hawthorne ranks lower within California (4th percentile statewide) than its 35th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Hawthorne ranks 20,442 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 842 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 1,509 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Hawthorne and the insurance market
Hawthorne's 35th-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.
Hardening a home in Hawthorne
With 99.9% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Hawthorne gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 17,142 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Hawthorne. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Hawthorne, see the exposure-zones guide.