Waipio, HI
How exposed is Waipio to wildfire?
Waipio sits at the 96th 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 2,682 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Waipio's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 93rd percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
2,682 buildings are counted in Waipio, and 99.5% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 0.5% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
Where Waipio ranks
Waipio's risk sits at a similar level relative to Hawaii (82nd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (96th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Waipio ranks 1,319 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 5,961 by building count (1 is largest). Within Hawaii alone, it ranks 31 of 163 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Hawaii on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Waipio's 96th-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.
What would actually reduce this score
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Waipio (99.5% 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
Waipio's 96th-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 Waipio, see the exposure-zones guide.