Julian, CA
How exposed is Julian to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Julian at the 100th national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 1,402 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Julian at the 100th national percentile — 0 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 70.9% of Julian's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 29.1% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 994 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Julian against the rest of the country
Julian scores 100th nationally and 99th within California — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Julian ranks 29 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 9,619 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 18 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Julian
Julian's 100th-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 Julian
Because Direct exposure dominates in Julian (70.9%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Julian's figures come from
Julian's 100th-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 Julian's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.