Paradise (Butte), CA
How exposed is Paradise (Butte) to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Paradise (Butte) lands at the 80th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 9,549 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Paradise (Butte)'s burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 81st percentile nationally.
Where Paradise (Butte)'s buildings actually sit
Of Paradise (Butte)'s 9,549 counted buildings, 65.5% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first. At 9,549 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Paradise (Butte) against the rest of the country
Paradise (Butte) ranks lower within California (41st percentile statewide) than its 80th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Paradise (Butte) ranks 6,168 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 1,706 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 929 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
Paradise (Butte)'s 80th-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.
Hardening a home in Paradise (Butte)
Because Direct exposure dominates in Paradise (Butte) (65.5%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Paradise (Butte)'s figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Paradise (Butte)'s 6,168-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Paradise (Butte)'s dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.