South San Gabriel, CA
How exposed is South San Gabriel to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, South San Gabriel lands at the 63rd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 2,694 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, South San Gabriel's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 67th percentile nationally.
Where South San Gabriel's buildings actually sit
Most of South San Gabriel's buildings (98.5% of 2,694) fall outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones entirely — that doesn't zero out the score above, it means the risk is regional, not structure-by-structure.
South San Gabriel against the rest of the country
South San Gabriel's 63rd national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 20th ranking inside California does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 42 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, South San Gabriel ranks 11,779 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 5,939 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 1,251 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
South San Gabriel 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 63rd-percentile score like South San Gabriel's can end up mattering for. More on the disclosure law.
Hardening a home in South San Gabriel
With 98.5% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, South San Gabriel gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where South San Gabriel's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind South San Gabriel's 11,779-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what South San Gabriel's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.