Santa Clarita, CA
Santa Clarita, CA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Santa Clarita's 61,808 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.)
Separately from the risk score above, Santa Clarita'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
61,808 buildings are counted in Santa Clarita, and 71.1% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 9.9% in Direct exposure or the 19% rated Minimal. At 61,808 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Where Santa Clarita ranks
Santa Clarita 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, Santa Clarita ranks 937 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 124 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 328 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Santa Clarita and the insurance market
Santa Clarita'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.
Hardening a home in Santa Clarita
Santa Clarita's 71.1% 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 Santa Clarita's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 61,808 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Santa Clarita. The exposure-zones guide covers what Santa Clarita's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.