Kensington, CA
Kensington, CA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Kensington at the 83rd national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 2,416 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Kensington at the 83rd national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
83% of Kensington's 2,416 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 11.6% Direct and 5.4% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Where Kensington ranks
Kensington ranks lower within California (45th percentile statewide) than its 83rd national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Kensington ranks 5,473 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,469 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 872 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Kensington
Because Kensington 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 Kensington
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Kensington (83% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Kensington's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Kensington's 5,473-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Kensington's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.