Squirrel Mountain Valley, CA
How exposed is Squirrel Mountain Valley to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Squirrel Mountain Valley lands at the 99th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 629 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Squirrel Mountain Valley at the 99th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Squirrel Mountain Valley's buildings actually sit
Direct exposure dominates in Squirrel Mountain Valley: 88.1% of its 629 buildings, versus 11.9% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Where Squirrel Mountain Valley ranks
Squirrel Mountain Valley scores 99th nationally and 89th within California — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Squirrel Mountain Valley ranks 345 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,456 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 174 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
Because Squirrel Mountain Valley is in California, a wildfire-hazard disclosure is legally required before a sale closes here — unusual nationally, since only these two states mandate it. The state's FAIR Plan alone carried 668,609 policies by the end of 2025. Full detail in the disclosure-law guide.
Hardening a home in Squirrel Mountain Valley
With 88.1% of Squirrel Mountain Valley 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.
More on how this number was built
Squirrel Mountain Valley's 99th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Squirrel Mountain Valley, see the exposure-zones guide.