Wildfires risk in California

The roof is cedar shake. You just found out your new insurance carrier won't write a policy because of it. And the seller's disclosure says the last company cancelled after two years. That's your introduction to buying a house in California's fire country.

Who this hits hardest

Wildfire in California doesn't care about zip codes, but some places get hit more often. The foothills of the Sierra Nevada, from Shasta County down to Kern County, see some of the biggest runs. The North Bay — Sonoma, Napa, and Solano counties — has burned repeatedly in the last decade. Butte County knows this better than almost anywhere. Los Angeles County has its own mix of canyon fires and wind-driven blazes. San Bernardino, Riverside, and Ventura counties sit in the path of Santa Ana winds. San Diego County's backcountry is a regular burn zone.

What makes a house vulnerable? It's not just the trees. It's the little things. Embers fly a mile ahead of a fire front. They land in gutters, on wood decks, in vents. A house with a wood shake roof is a tinder bundle. So is one with single-pane windows. If your street has one way in and one way out, that's a problem when evacuation orders come. Older homes in the wildland-urban interface — the WUI, as planners call it — face the highest risk.

Renters get hit too. You don't own the building, but you lose everything inside. And if you're in a mobile home park, fire moves fast through those.

After the event — claims and repairs

If your house survives but the neighborhood burns, you still have a mess. Smoke damage, ash, water from firefighting. Your policy may cover additional living expenses (ALE) while you're displaced. But read the limits. Many people find out too late that their ALE runs out after a few months.

If your house is a total loss, the claims process is long. You'll need to document everything. Photos, videos, receipts. Your insurer will send an adjuster. Then you get a check for the dwelling, minus your deductible, and a separate check for contents. But here's the catch: rebuilding costs in California have jumped. If your policy has a cap that hasn't kept up, you might be underinsured. That's true in high-risk counties like Butte, Sonoma, and Lake.

Repair contractors get booked solid after a big fire. Price gouging happens. The state Attorney General goes after it, but it still happens. Also, after a fire, the ground is bare. Rain can trigger mudslides and debris flows. That's a separate risk, and your standard policy may not cover it. Flood insurance is separate, and it usually has a 30-day waiting period.

On insurance: wildfire is typically covered under a standard homeowners policy. But in California, many insurers have stopped writing new policies in high-risk areas or have non-renewed existing ones. The California FAIR Plan is the insurer of last resort. It's basic. It covers fire, but you may need a separate policy for liability and theft. Earthquake is always excluded. Flood is excluded. So if you're in a fire zone, you might have three policies: FAIR Plan for fire, a difference in conditions (DIC) policy for everything else, and flood insurance if you're near a creek. It's expensive and confusing.

Before the season starts

Fire season in California isn't a season anymore. It's year-round. But the worst months are typically August through November, when winds pick up. So do your work in spring.

Start with defensible space. Zone 0 is the first five feet around your house. No wood mulch, no plants, no flammable stuff. Use gravel or hardscape. Zone 1 is 5 to 30 feet. Keep grass short, remove dead leaves, space out shrubs. Zone 2 is 30 to 100 feet. Thin trees, remove ladder fuels — vegetation that lets fire climb from ground to treetops.

Then harden the house. Class A roof. Ember-resistant vents. Dual-pane windows with metal screens. Clear your gutters. If you only do one thing this weekend, clear the pine needles off your roof and out of your gutters. That's the cheapest, highest-impact task.

Have a go-bag. Know your evacuation route. Sign up for county alerts. Cal OES has a list of emergency notifications. And practice. If you have pets, have a plan for them.

Document your home now. Walk through with your phone, open closets, film the garage. That video is gold if you ever have to file a claim.

Questions we get

Does my California homeowners policy cover wildfire?

Often yes, but it depends. Many insurers have pulled back from high-risk areas, and some have non-renewed policies. If you can't get a standard policy, the California FAIR Plan is an option. It's a basic fire policy, not a full homeowners policy. Read your declaration page carefully.

How do I know if I'm in a wildfire risk zone in California?

Check with your county's planning department or fire safe council. Cal OES has resources, and your county has evacuation zone maps. FEMA's National Risk Index can give you a county-level picture, but the most local maps come from your county and Cal Fire. If you're buying, ask the seller for the natural hazard disclosure.

What should I do first if I'm buying a house in California's fire country?

Get an insurance quote before you remove contingencies. If no one will write a policy, that's a deal-breaker. Then look at the roof and the access road. A wood shake roof and a single narrow road are red flags. You can fix the roof, but you can't fix the road.

Official sources

• California Governor's Office of Emergency Services
• National Interagency Fire Center
• Ready.gov – Wildfires
• US Forest Service – Fire