Lake City, CA
How exposed is Lake City to wildfire?
USFS scores Lake City at the 96th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 122 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Lake City's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 96th percentile nationally.
Where Lake City's buildings actually sit
Direct exposure dominates in Lake City: 91.8% of its 122 buildings, versus 8.2% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Where Lake City ranks
Lake City ranks lower within California (76th percentile statewide) than its 96th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Lake City ranks 1,248 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 28,049 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 370 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Lake City
Lake City sits in California, one of two states that legally require a wildfire-risk disclosure at sale. California's FAIR Plan, the state's insurer of last resort, ended 2025 with 668,609 residential policies after adding 21,859 in Q4 alone — the kind of market shift a 96th-percentile score like Lake City's can end up mattering for. More on the disclosure law.
What would actually reduce this score
With 91.8% of Lake City 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.
Where Lake City's figures come from
Lake City's 96th-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 Lake City's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.