Placerville, CA
Placerville, CA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Placerville's 4,374 buildings earn a 98th-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.)
Separately from the risk score above, Placerville's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 96th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS puts 65.5% of Placerville's 4,374 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 33.3% Direct and 1.2% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Placerville against the rest of the country
Placerville ranks lower within California (82nd percentile statewide) than its 98th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Placerville ranks 753 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 3,902 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 294 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
Placerville's 98th-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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Placerville's 65.5% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Placerville's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 4,374 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Placerville. The exposure-zones guide covers what Placerville's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.