Waihee-Waiehu, HI
Waihee-Waiehu wildfire risk explained
Waihee-Waiehu sits at the 94th 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 2,352 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Waihee-Waiehu at the 91st national percentile — 3 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Waihee-Waiehu's buildings actually sit
75.4% of Waihee-Waiehu's 2,352 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 16.7% Direct and 7.9% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
How Waihee-Waiehu compares
Waihee-Waiehu ranks lower within Hawaii (70th percentile statewide) than its 94th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Waihee-Waiehu ranks 1,827 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,604 by building count (1 is largest). Within Hawaii alone, it ranks 50 of 163 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Hawaii on its state page.
Waihee-Waiehu and the insurance market
Waihee-Waiehu's very high rating (94th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Waihee-Waiehu's 75.4% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Waihee-Waiehu's 94th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Waihee-Waiehu, see the exposure-zones guide.