Sage, CA
Sage wildfire risk explained
Sage sits at the 100th 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 2,905 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Sage's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 100th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
2,905 buildings are counted in Sage, and 98.9% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0% rated Minimal.
Sage against the rest of the country
Sage's risk sits at a similar level relative to California (96th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (100th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Sage ranks 104 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 5,579 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 68 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Sage and the insurance market
Sage sits in California, one of two states that legally require a wildfire-risk disclosure at sale. California's FAIR Plan, the state's insurer of last resort, ended 2025 with 668,609 residential policies after adding 21,859 in Q4 alone — the kind of market shift a 100th-percentile score like Sage's can end up mattering for. More on the disclosure law.
What would actually reduce this score
With 98.9% of Sage in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
Where Sage's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,905 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Sage. The exposure-zones guide covers what Sage's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.