Herald, CA
How exposed is Herald to wildfire?
USFS scores Herald at the 79th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 1,007 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Herald at the 82nd national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Herald's building exposure, zone by zone
1,007 buildings are counted in Herald, and 96.4% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 1.6% rated Minimal.
How Herald compares
Herald ranks lower within California (38th percentile statewide) than its 79th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Herald ranks 6,704 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,881 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 970 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Herald
Herald sits in California, one of two states that legally require a wildfire-risk disclosure at sale. California's FAIR Plan, the state's insurer of last resort, ended 2025 with 668,609 residential policies after adding 21,859 in Q4 alone — the kind of market shift a 79th-percentile score like Herald's can end up mattering for. More on the disclosure law.
Hardening a home in Herald
Because Direct exposure dominates in Herald (96.4%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Herald's figures come from
Herald's 79th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Herald's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.