Lookout, CA
Lookout wildfire risk explained
Lookout's 144 buildings earn a 89th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Lookout at the 90th percentile, close to its 89th-percentile risk score.
Lookout's building exposure, zone by zone
144 buildings are counted in Lookout, and 94.4% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0% rated Minimal.
How Lookout compares
Lookout ranks lower within California (58th percentile statewide) than its 89th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Lookout ranks 3,614 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,113 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 662 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Lookout's 89th-percentile score lands in California, the only two states requiring a wildfire disclosure at sale. California's surplus-lines homeowners market passed 300,000 policies for the first time in 2025, driven by carriers pulling back from wildfire-exposed areas statewide. The disclosure-law guide covers what it requires.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Lookout (94.4%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 144 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Lookout. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Lookout, see the exposure-zones guide.