Paukaa, HI
How exposed is Paukaa to wildfire?
Paukaa's 245 buildings earn a 63rd-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — well above the national norm for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Paukaa's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 61st percentile nationally.
Where Paukaa's buildings actually sit
245 buildings are counted in Paukaa, and 67.8% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 30.2% in Direct exposure or the 2% rated Minimal.
How Paukaa compares
Paukaa ranks lower within Hawaii (1st percentile statewide) than its 63rd national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Paukaa ranks 11,626 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 23,286 by building count (1 is largest). Within Hawaii alone, it ranks 161 of 163 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Hawaii on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Paukaa's 63rd-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Paukaa (67.8% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Paukaa's 11,626-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Paukaa, see the exposure-zones guide.