Penn Valley, CA
Penn Valley wildfire risk explained
Penn Valley's 904 buildings earn a 97th-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 Penn Valley at the 96th percentile, close to its 97th-percentile risk score.
Where Penn Valley's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 83.1% of Penn Valley's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 16.9% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 751 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
How Penn Valley compares
Penn Valley ranks lower within California (79th percentile statewide) than its 97th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Penn Valley ranks 1,064 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,678 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 341 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
Penn Valley's 97th-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 Penn Valley (83.1%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Penn Valley's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Penn Valley's 1,064-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Penn Valley's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.