Home › Protect your home, lower your premium

Wildfire Risk Maps: How to Check Your Home's Official Fire Zone

Checked against official sources · Last reviewed October 14, 2026

Hazard maps, risk maps and insurance scores are three different things

Before you look anything up, it helps to know what kind of map you're looking at.

• A hazard map (like California's Fire Hazard Severity Zones) rates the land: how likely fire is and how intensely it would burn. CAL FIRE says its maps evaluate "hazard," not "risk." Hazard is based on physical conditions "over a 30 to 50-year period without considering mitigation measures such as home hardening, recent wildfire, or fuel reduction efforts."
• A risk map adds what could be damaged. CAL FIRE defines "risk" as "the potential damage a fire can do to the area under existing conditions, accounting for any modifications such as fuel reduction projects, defensible space, and ignition resistant building construction." The national Wildfire Risk to Communities map is this kind, built around homes.
• An insurer's wildfire score is the insurer's own estimate for your property. Washington's Insurance Commissioner says insurers use third-party wildfire risk scores "to determine eligibility for coverage, pricing, and renewals," built from "satellite imagery, property data, insurance loss data, and fire science" down to the individual property.

CAL FIRE notes that insurance risk models "differ from hazard models" because they consider how susceptible a structure is to fire damage and other short-term factors. Because they measure different things, a state map and an insurer's score can disagree about the same house. The sections below cover where to find the official maps, and then what the law says about insurers' scores. [1][5][8][13]

California: CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zones

How to look up your address: use CAL FIRE's Fire Hazard Severity Zone map viewer, linked from the Office of the State Fire Marshal's Fire Hazard Severity Zones page. Questions go to CAL FIRE at (916) 633-7655 or FHSZinformation@fire.ca.gov.

The three zones: Moderate, High and Very High. CAL FIRE's model looks at "fire history, existing and potential fuel (natural vegetation), predicted flame length, blowing embers, terrain, and typical fire weather for the area." CAL FIRE's FAQ adds that the zones "are not a structure loss model, as key information regarding structure ignition (such as roof type, etc.) is not included."

Two kinds of land, two map updates:

• State Responsibility Area (SRA): land where the state has financial responsibility for wildland fire protection; incorporated cities and federal land are not included. All SRA land is in one of the three zones. The new SRA maps were adopted Jan. 31, 2024 and took effect April 1, 2024.
• Local Responsibility Area (LRA): cities and other areas where local government handles fire protection. A 2021 law (SB 63) added Moderate and High zones here; before, only Very High zones had to be adopted. CAL FIRE sent its LRA recommendations to cities and counties in March and April 2025.

For LRA land, the zone becomes official when your city or county adopts it. State law says a local agency "shall designate, by ordinance" the zones within 120 days of receiving CAL FIRE's recommendations. A city or county may add areas or raise a zone, but "shall not decrease" the level CAL FIRE identified. If the viewer and your city disagree, ask your city or county planning or fire department which map it adopted.

How much land: CAL FIRE counts about 18.0 million acres in Very High zones and 11.3 million in High zones statewide, combining state and local areas (SRA acres as adopted April 1, 2024; LRA acres as sent to local governments in 2025). [1][13][14][15]

What a California fire zone means for you (besides insurance)

The zones matter mostly for building, clearing and selling. CAL FIRE says the zones "designate areas where California's defensible space standards and wildland urban interface building codes are required," "can be a factor in real estate disclosure," and may be considered in local general plans.

• Building code (Chapter 7A): California's wildland-urban interface building code, California Building Code Chapter 7A, covers roofing, siding, decking, windows and vents. CAL FIRE says it applies "throughout all state responsibility area regardless of the fire hazard severity ranking," and to new buildings in High and Very High zones in local areas. Local rules may also require it for remodels; check with your building department.
• Defensible space: in a Very High zone in a local area, state law requires you to "maintain defensible space of 100 feet from each side and from the front and rear of the structure," but not beyond your property line except as the law allows. Local rules can require more. Property in a State Responsibility Area is subject to the defensible space requirements of Public Resources Code 4291. See our defensible space guide and wildfire home hardening.
• Disclosure when you sell: a seller must tell the buyer if the property is in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, and separately if it is in a State Responsibility Area, a "wildland area that may contain substantial forest fire risks and hazards." In sales covered by Civil Code section 1103, the disclosure goes on the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement or the Local Option Real Estate Disclosure Statement.

[13][16][17][18]

Do California insurers use the fire hazard zones?

California's insurance regulator says no. In a consumer alert posted on CAL FIRE's Fire Hazard Severity Zone page, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said: "The CAL FIRE hazard maps are not used for insurance rates or underwriting decisions." The Department of Insurance says insurers have for years used "wildfire risk models for determining where they will write and renew policies, and how much premium to charge a policyholder -- not the Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps," and that the maps' purpose "is to drive local planning decisions, not insurance decisions." Its Q&A says a zone change for a single homeowner "is unlikely to affect their insurance."

CAL FIRE's own FAQ is a little more careful: it says it "is unlikely that insurance risk models specifically call out CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zones as a factor, but much of the same data that is used in the fire hazard severity zone model are likely included in the insurance companies' risk models." In other words, the same terrain, fuel and weather that put you in a high zone can also push up an insurer's score.

California's wildfire catastrophe model rule. As part of its Sustainable Insurance Strategy, the Department of Insurance put into effect a catastrophe modeling and ratemaking regulation on Dec. 13, 2024. It lets insurers use computer wildfire catastrophe models in rate filings after a Department review, requires those models "to account for mitigation efforts by homeowners, businesses, and communities," and ties their use to commitments to write more policies in wildfire-distressed areas (for major insurers, no less than 85% of their statewide market share).

Your wildfire risk score. Under California's Safer from Wildfires regulation, the Department says insurers "must provide you with the risk score whenever you apply for a policy, before a renewal or non-renewal of your policy," and when you ask after finishing a mitigation step, with a detailed explanation, how to lower it and how much you could save. You can appeal the score to the insurer; if the appeal is denied, contact the Department at (800) 927-4357 or insurance.ca.gov. Our wildfire home hardening guide lists the score deadlines and the discount steps. If you can't find coverage, see the California FAIR Plan and homeowners insurance in California. [6][9][13][19][20][21]

Oregon: the statewide map was repealed

Oregon's 2021 wildfire law (SB 762) called for a statewide wildfire hazard map. According to Oregon's Division of Financial Regulation, a 2023 law (SB 82) then "prohibited insurers from using the wildfire hazard map to cancel, nonrenew, or increase premiums," and in 2025 the Legislature "passed SB 83, which repealed the state wildfire hazard map." The Division adds that the repeal "does not change the customary practice of insurers using their own proprietary models when making insurance decisions."

The insurance protection is still in Oregon law: ORS 742.278 says an insurer "may not use a map published by an agency of this state that identifies areas of wildfire risk or exposure as a basis for" canceling or declining to renew a homeowner policy, or increasing its premium.

See homeowners insurance in Oregon for the state's wildfire notice rules and the Oregon FAIR Plan. [7][12]

Utah: the state's high-risk boundary is the one insurers must use

Utah's 2025 wildland-urban interface law (H.B. 48) has the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (FFSL) create a high-risk wildland-urban interface boundary. Utah Code 31A-22-1310, in effect since Jan. 1, 2026, says that to decide whether a property is high-risk wildland-urban interface property, an insurer "may only use the boundary provided in the wildfire risk assessment mapping tool maintained by the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands." Insurers may still use other fire hazard data to set rates or underwrite, as long as it is consistent with that boundary and state rules.

The same law says that if an insurer cancels or nonrenews wildland-urban interface property because of wildfire risk, the notice must include "the facts on which the ... insurer's decision is based with reasonable precision." If wildfire risk leads to a premium increase of "more than 20% of the previous term's premium," the insurer must give you those facts when you ask. You can complain to the Utah Insurance Department, which may investigate.

Where to look: FFSL's Utah Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal (UWRAP) has a Risk Explorer for checking wildfire risk in your area and, as of Oct. 14, 2026, a "High Risk Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Properties" map with downloadable data. FFSL's description of that data says the boundary "is required for use by casualty and property insurers when labelling a property as 'high risk wildland urban interface'" and identifies the structures that will be charged a fee under Utah's High Risk WUI Property Program. (FFSL's older H.B. 48 questions page still calls the boundary "under development.") See homeowners insurance in Utah. [2][11][22]

Colorado, Washington and Texas

Colorado. The Colorado State Forest Service's Colorado Forest Atlas includes a free Wildfire Risk Viewer that "allows users to identify specific wildfire risk levels within a 1/2-mile radius of a home." Colorado's 2025 law (HB25-1182), in effect July 1, 2026 for policies issued or renewed on or after that date, requires an insurer that uses a wildfire risk model or score to send you an annual written notice of your wildfire risk score. The notice must explain the score, including "that insurers may use different models and have different risk score ranges that could result in different risk scores from other insurers," show where your score falls in the range, name the property features that drove it, and say what effect mitigation could have. You can appeal; the insurer must acknowledge the appeal within 10 calendar days and decide within 30. The law also covers the Colorado FAIR Plan. See homeowners insurance in Colorado.

Washington. The state Department of Natural Resources is building a statewide wildfire hazard map under Senate Bill 6120 that will rate areas "low, moderate, high, very high," plus county risk maps. As of Oct. 14, 2026, DNR's wildfire hazard and risk mapping page shows a draft map and public listening sessions; the final maps are not yet published. The Insurance Commissioner's 2026 bill to require disclosure and appeals "passed the Senate 48-1, but did not advance" in the House, and she plans an updated bill for 2027. The Commissioner also notes that the climate risk scores on real estate websites "aren't used in insurance underwriting." See homeowners insurance in Washington.

Texas. The Texas A&M Forest Service runs the Texas Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal (TxWRAP), whose Texas Wildfire Risk Explorer maps wildland-urban interface zones, housing unit risk, ember load and other wildfire layers. The Forest Service describes TxWRAP as "an online, statewide planning tool" whose information can go into a Community Wildfire Protection Plan or other mitigation plans. See homeowners insurance in Texas. [3][4][8][10][23]

Other states: the national Wildfire Risk to Communities map

If your state has no official address-level map, the USDA Forest Service's Wildfire Risk to Communities has maps and data for communities, counties and states across the U.S. It was created at the direction of Congress and was fully updated in 2024; another data update "is planned for 2026."

Know its limits. The Forest Service says the data "are not locally calibrated and are not fine scale" and "are not designed for considering risk at the individual home scale." It "does not account for homes where risk may have been mitigated" and is "not intended to replace state, regional, or local risk assessments." On insurance it says plainly: "Wildfire Risk to Communities is not designed for insurance companies," and "many insurance companies conduct their own wildfire risk assessments."

To find a state or local assessment for your area, the Forest Service points to the U.S. Geological Survey's Wildfire Hazard and Risk Assessment Clearinghouse, which lists available wildfire hazard and risk assessments across the country and links to their data when it is public.

For a quick picture of recent hail, wind and wildfire activity where you live, see your state's page. [5][24]

If your insurer's wildfire score doesn't match the map

A public map and your insurer's score are built for different jobs, so a mismatch alone doesn't mean either one is wrong. What you can do depends on your state:

• California: ask for your wildfire risk score and its explanation; insurers must give it at application, before renewal or nonrenewal, and after you report mitigation work. Appeal to the insurer, then to the Department of Insurance at (800) 927-4357.
• Colorado: for policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2026, you get an annual notice of your score and can appeal it to the insurer.
• Utah: if wildfire risk led to a cancellation, nonrenewal or a premium increase over 20%, you're entitled to the facts behind it, and you can complain to the Insurance Department.
• Oregon: an insurer may not cancel, nonrenew or raise your premium based on a state agency's wildfire map.

Everywhere, the work that lowers wildfire risk on your own lot is the same: see wildfire home hardening and defensible space. If you've been dropped, see what to do after a nonrenewal and your state's FAIR plan. [9][10][11][12]

Questions people ask