Lake Cavanaugh, WA
Lake Cavanaugh wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Lake Cavanaugh at the 49th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 521 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Lake Cavanaugh at the 45th percentile, close to its 49th-percentile risk score.
Lake Cavanaugh's building exposure, zone by zone
81.8% of Lake Cavanaugh's 521 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 426 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0.2% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 18% are Minimal.
Lake Cavanaugh against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Lake Cavanaugh's 49th national percentile and its 62nd percentile inside Washington, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Lake Cavanaugh ranks 16,028 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,018 by building count (1 is largest). Within Washington alone, it ranks 239 of 628 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Washington on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 49th national percentile, Lake Cavanaugh rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 81.8% of Lake Cavanaugh in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 521 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Lake Cavanaugh. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Lake Cavanaugh, see the exposure-zones guide.