About Communities At Risk

To help protect people and their property from potential catastrophic wildfire, the National Fire Plan directs funding to be provided for projects designed to reduce the fire risks to communities. A fundamental step in achieving this goal was the identification of communities that are at high risk of damage from wildfire. These high risk communities identified within the wildland-urban interface, the area where homes and wildlands intermix, were published in the Federal Register in 2001. At the request of Congress, the Federal Register notice only listed those communities neighboring federal lands. The list represents the collaborative work of the 50 states and five federal agencies using a standardized process, whereby states were asked to submit all communities within their borders that met the criteria of a structure at high risk from wildfire.

With California's extensive urban Wildland-Urban Interface situation, the list of communities extends beyond just those adjacent to Federal lands. There are 19 communities currently on the Communities at Risk List. The California State Forester (CAL FIRE Director) has assigned the role of managing the list to the California Fire Alliance (Alliance). The Alliance has recently developed a process whereby communities can be added or removed from the list of "communities at risk" to wildfire.

Communities At Risk List

Place Name	County Name	Federal Threat	Federally Regulated	Year
Ione	Amador			2001
Inskip	Butte			2001
Independence	Inyo			2001
Inverness Park	Marin			2001
Inverness	Marin			2001
Inglenook	Mendocino			2001
Irvine	Orange			2001
Iowa Hill	Placer			2001
Indian Falls	Plumas			2001
Idyllwild-Pine Cove	Riverside			2001
Indio	Riverside			2001
Indian Wells	Riverside			2001
Isleton	Sacramento			2001
Inaja	San Diego			2001
Imperial Beach	San Diego			2001
Isla Vista	Santa Barbara			2001
Interlaken	Santa Cruz			2001
Igo	Shasta			2001
Iowa City	Yuba			2001