Waimea (Hawaii), HI
Waimea (Hawaii) wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Waimea (Hawaii) at the 93rd national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 4,814 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Waimea (Hawaii) at the 91st national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
57.8% of Waimea (Hawaii)'s 4,814 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 2,780 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 42.3% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Waimea (Hawaii) against the rest of the country
Waimea (Hawaii) ranks lower within Hawaii (62nd percentile statewide) than its 93rd national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Waimea (Hawaii) ranks 2,134 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 3,548 by building count (1 is largest). Within Hawaii alone, it ranks 62 of 163 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Hawaii on its state page.
Waimea (Hawaii) and the insurance market
Waimea (Hawaii)'s 93rd-percentile, very high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 57.8% of Waimea (Hawaii) 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 4,814 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Waimea (Hawaii). For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Waimea (Hawaii), see the exposure-zones guide.