Koloa, HI
Koloa wildfire risk explained
Koloa sits at the 95th 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 735 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Koloa at the 93rd percentile, close to its 95th-percentile risk score.
Where Koloa's buildings actually sit
735 buildings are counted in Koloa, and 75.8% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 24.2% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
Koloa against the rest of the country
Koloa ranks lower within Hawaii (76th percentile statewide) than its 95th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Koloa ranks 1,571 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 14,269 by building count (1 is largest). Within Hawaii alone, it ranks 40 of 163 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Hawaii on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Koloa
Koloa's 95th-percentile, very high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Koloa (75.8% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 735 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Koloa. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Koloa, see the exposure-zones guide.