Martell, CA
Martell, CA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Martell 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 439 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Martell's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 95th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Martell's buildings (80.9%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Martell against the rest of the country
Martell's 95th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 74th ranking inside California does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 21 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Martell ranks 1,566 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,473 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 411 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
Because Martell is in California, a wildfire-hazard disclosure is legally required before a sale closes here — unusual nationally, since only these two states mandate it. The state's FAIR Plan alone carried 668,609 policies by the end of 2025. Full detail in the disclosure-law guide.
What would actually reduce this score
Because 80.9% of Martell's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Martell's figures come from
Martell's 95th-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 Martell's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.