Trinidad, CA
Trinidad wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Trinidad at the 46th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 280 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Trinidad's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 48th percentile nationally.
Trinidad's building exposure, zone by zone
66.4% of Trinidad's 280 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 33.6% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Where Trinidad ranks
Trinidad's 46th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 8th ranking inside California does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 38 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Trinidad ranks 17,008 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,178 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 1,441 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
Trinidad's 46th-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 Trinidad
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Trinidad (66.4% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 280 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Trinidad. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Trinidad, see the exposure-zones guide.