Whitehawk, CA
How exposed is Whitehawk to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Whitehawk at the 98th national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 196 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Whitehawk's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 97th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
96.9% of Whitehawk's 196 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 190 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 3.1% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where Whitehawk ranks
Whitehawk ranks lower within California (83rd percentile statewide) than its 98th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Whitehawk ranks 662 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,988 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 275 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
Whitehawk and the insurance market
Whitehawk sits in California, one of two states that legally require a wildfire-risk disclosure at sale. California's FAIR Plan, the state's insurer of last resort, ended 2025 with 668,609 residential policies after adding 21,859 in Q4 alone — the kind of market shift a 98th-percentile score like Whitehawk's can end up mattering for. More on the disclosure law.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 96.9% of Whitehawk 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.
Where Whitehawk's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Whitehawk's 662-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Whitehawk's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.