Whitewater, CA
Whitewater, CA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Whitewater at the 95th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 478 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Whitewater at the 94th national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Whitewater's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS classifies 80.8% of Whitewater's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 19.3% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 386 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Whitewater against the rest of the country
Whitewater ranks lower within California (75th percentile statewide) than its 95th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Whitewater ranks 1,438 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,741 by building count (1 is largest). Within California alone, it ranks 394 of 1,570 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for California on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Whitewater 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 95th-percentile score like Whitewater's can end up mattering for. More on the disclosure law.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Whitewater (80.8%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Whitewater's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Whitewater's 1,438-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Whitewater's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.