Imperial, CA
Imperial, CA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Imperial at the 54th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 5,472 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Imperial's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 56th percentile nationally.
Where Imperial's buildings actually sit
Most of Imperial's buildings (94.3% of 5,472) fall outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones entirely — that doesn't zero out the score above, it means the risk is regional, not structure-by-structure. At 5,472 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
How Imperial compares
Imperial ranks lower within California (14th percentile statewide) than its 54th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Imperial ranks 14,424 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 3,152 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 1,356 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Imperial
Imperial 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 54th-percentile score like Imperial's can end up mattering for. More on the disclosure law.
Hardening a home in Imperial
With 94.3% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Imperial gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Imperial's figures come from
Imperial's 54th-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 Imperial's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.