Los Altos, TX
Los Altos, TX's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Los Altos at the 76th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 81 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Los Altos at the 71st national percentile — 5 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Los Altos's buildings actually sit
USFS puts 100% of Los Altos's 81 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 0% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
How Los Altos compares
Los Altos ranks lower within Texas (49th percentile statewide) than its 76th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Los Altos ranks 7,610 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 29,865 by building count (1 is largest). Within Texas alone, it ranks 917 of 1,795 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Texas on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 76th percentile nationally, Los Altos carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
What would actually reduce this score
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Los Altos (100% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Los Altos's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 81 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Los Altos. The exposure-zones guide covers what Los Altos's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.