Keene, CA
Keene wildfire risk explained
Keene sits at the 99th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 384 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Keene's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 99th percentile nationally.
Where Keene's buildings actually sit
Of Keene's 384 counted buildings, 96.9% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Keene against the rest of the country
Keene scores 99th nationally and 91st 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, Keene ranks 275 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,539 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 150 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Keene
Because Keene 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 Keene
Because Direct exposure dominates in Keene (96.9%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Keene's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Keene's 275-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Keene's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.