Sunnyside-Tahoe City, CA
Sunnyside-Tahoe City wildfire risk explained
Sunnyside-Tahoe City sits at the 85th 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 1,949 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Sunnyside-Tahoe City's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 83rd percentile nationally.
Sunnyside-Tahoe City's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS classifies 74.3% of Sunnyside-Tahoe City's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 24.4% Indirect share and far above its 1.3% Minimal share — a profile where 1,448 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
How Sunnyside-Tahoe City compares
Inside California, Sunnyside-Tahoe City sits at just the 51st percentile even though it scores 85th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Sunnyside-Tahoe City ranks 4,624 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,617 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 775 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Sunnyside-Tahoe City
Because Sunnyside-Tahoe City 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Sunnyside-Tahoe City (74.3%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Sunnyside-Tahoe City's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,949 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Sunnyside-Tahoe City. The exposure-zones guide covers what Sunnyside-Tahoe City's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.