Tahoe Vista, CA
Tahoe Vista, CA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Tahoe Vista sits at the 93rd 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 1,303 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Tahoe Vista's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 91st percentile nationally.
Where Tahoe Vista's buildings actually sit
63.9% of Tahoe Vista's 1,303 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 832 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 27.6% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 8.6% are Minimal.
Where Tahoe Vista ranks
Tahoe Vista's 93rd national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 68th ranking inside California does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 25 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Tahoe Vista ranks 2,199 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,066 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 497 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
Tahoe Vista's 93rd-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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 63.9% of Tahoe Vista 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 Tahoe Vista's figures come from
Tahoe Vista's 93rd-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Tahoe Vista's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.