University of California-Merced, CA
University of California-Merced wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, University of California-Merced lands at the 94th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 78 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks University of California-Merced at the 96th national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
University of California-Merced's building exposure, zone by zone
Indirect exposure is dominant in University of California-Merced (69.2% of 78 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 30.8% sit in the Direct zone.
University of California-Merced against the rest of the country
University of California-Merced's 94th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 72nd ranking inside California does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 22 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, University of California-Merced ranks 1,788 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 29,955 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 440 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
University of California-Merced and the insurance market
University of California-Merced's 94th-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.
What would actually reduce this score
Because 69.2% of University of California-Merced's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where University of California-Merced's figures come from
University of California-Merced's 94th-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 University of California-Merced's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.