[Map] California’s Wildfire vs Earthquake Risk

When it comes to large-scale disasters, California has long been synonymous with earthquakes.  Estimates say that there are as many as 10,000 earthquakes occur each year in Southern California alone.However, over the last decade, wildfires have joined the conversation.  Each year, it seems, wildfire season becomes more and more devastating.  This year has been no exception.  In 2021, wildfires continued to ravage communities across California. Recently, the Dixie Fire became the state’s second-largest wildfire on record – second only to the August Complex of 2020.While both disasters seemed to strike with increasing frequency, which areas are residents at highest risk for each?After examining hazard assessment data from both the California Department of Conservation and CALFIRE, we mapped the risk for each.As it turns out, 66 percent of Californians live in areas that are considered to be high risk for earthquakes, while around 10 percent live in high-risk areas for wildfire.  Six percent of the population lives in areas that are considered high-risk of both.

Earthquake and Wildfire Risk for California’s 20 Largest Cities

City	County	Population	Earthquake Risk	Fire Risk
Los Angeles	Los Angeles	3966936	High	Low
San Diego	San Diego	1409573	Medium	Low
San Jose	Santa Clara	1027690	High	Low
San Francisco	San Francisco	874961	High	Low
Fresno	Fresno	525010	Low	Low
Sacramento	Sacramento	500930	Low	Low
Long Beach	Los Angeles	466776	High	Low
Oakland	Alameda	425097	High	Low
Bakersfield	Kern	377917	Medium	Low
Anaheim	Orange	349964	High	Low
Santa Ana	Orange	332794	High	Low
Riverside	Riverside	326414	High	Low
Stockton	San Joaquin	309228	Medium	Low
Irvine	Orange	273157	High	Low
Chula Vista	San Diego	268920	Medium	Low
Fremont	Alameda	235740	High	Low
San Bernardino	San Bernardino	216089	High	High
Santa Clarita	Los Angeles	213411	High	High
Modesto	Stanislaus	212616	Medium	Low
Fontana	San Bernardino	210759	High	Low

Additionally, 576 cities fall into the high-risk category for earthquakes, 267 California cities fall into the high-risk category for wildfires and 97 cities have a high risk of both.

Cities with High Wildfire Risk and High Earthquake Risk

City	County	Population	Earthquake Risk	Wildfire Risk
Acton	Los Angeles	7232	High	High
Agoura Hills	Los Angeles	20533	High	High
Agua Dulce	Los Angeles	3742	High	High
Alderpoint	Humboldt	156	High	High
Angwin	Napa	3179	High	High
Anza	Riverside	3076	High	High
Aromas	San Benito	2479	High	High
Azusa	Los Angeles	49753	High	High
Banning	Riverside	31072	High	High
Beaumont	Riverside	47144	High	High
Bell Canyon	Ventura	2109	High	High
Benbow	Humboldt	118	High	High
Berkeley	Alameda	121485	High	High
Big Bear Lake	San Bernardino	5241	High	High
Bradbury	Los Angeles	833	High	High
Brea	Orange	42678	High	High
Calabasas	Los Angeles	23988	High	High
Calimesa	Riverside	8814	High	High
Carmel-by-the-Sea	Monterey	3830	High	High
Castaic	Los Angeles	19400	High	High
Chester	Plumas	2145	High	High
Claremont	Los Angeles	36090	High	High
Clearlake	Lake	15349	High	High
Cobb	Lake	1011	High	High
Corralitos	Santa Cruz	2160	High	High
Crestline	San Bernardino	8709	High	High
Deer Park	Napa	869	High	High
Del Monte Forest	Monterey	4105	High	High
East Hemet	Riverside	20211	High	High
El Granada	San Mateo	6102	High	High
Elizabeth Lake	Los Angeles	1744	High	High
Frazier Park	Kern	2587	High	High
Gasquet	Del Norte	685	High	High
Glendale	Los Angeles	200232	High	High
Good Hope	Riverside	9195	High	High
Grand Terrace	San Bernardino	12510	High	High
Hacienda Heights	Los Angeles	55188	High	High
Hasley Canyon	Los Angeles	1145	High	High
Homeland	Riverside	7086	High	High
Hoopa	Humboldt	3201	High	High
Inverness	Marin	1097	High	High
Irwindale	Los Angeles	1394	High	High
La Cañada Flintridge	Los Angeles	20261	High	High
La Habra Heights	Los Angeles	6574	High	High
Lafayette	Contra Costa	26305	High	High
Lake Arrowhead	San Bernardino	8940	High	High
Lake California	Tehama	3329	High	High
Lake Elsinore	Riverside	65817	High	High
Lake Hughes	Los Angeles	520	High	High
Lake of the Woods	Kern	931	High	High
Lakeland Village	Riverside	13002	High	High
Leona Valley	Los Angeles	1571	High	High
Lexington Hills	Santa Clara	2685	High	High
Loma Linda	San Bernardino	24184	High	High
Lytle Creek	San Bernardino	673	High	High
Mad River	Trinity	458	High	High
Malibu	Los Angeles	12620	High	High
Markleeville	Alpine	132	High	High
Mentone	San Bernardino	9793	High	High
Mission Canyon	Santa Barbara	2508	High	High
Monte Sereno	Santa Clara	3479	High	High
Morongo Valley	San Bernardino	3090	High	High
Nuevo	Riverside	7182	High	High
Oak Glen	San Bernardino	430	High	High
Pacifica	San Mateo	38984	High	High
Palo Cedro	Shasta	1143	High	High
Palos Verdes Estates	Los Angeles	13434	High	High
Pine Mountain Club	Kern	1751	High	High
Rancho Palos Verdes	Los Angeles	42030	High	High
Rolling Hills	Los Angeles	1513	High	High
Rolling Hills Estates	Los Angeles	8169	High	High
Rowland Heights	Los Angeles	50347	High	High
San Bernardino	San Bernardino	216089	High	High
San Dimas	Los Angeles	34048	High	High
Santa Clarita	Los Angeles	213411	High	High
Santa Rosa Valley	Ventura	3016	High	High
Shelter Cove	Humboldt	580	High	High
Sierra Madre	Los Angeles	10932	High	High
Simi Valley	Ventura	125842	High	High
Smith River	Del Norte	498	High	High
South Lake Tahoe	El Dorado	21939	High	High
Stevenson Ranch	Los Angeles	19179	High	High
Sunol	Alameda	850	High	High
Tahoe Vista	Placer	1158	High	High
Temescal Valley	Riverside	27630	High	High
Thousand Oaks	Ventura	127873	High	High
Topanga	Los Angeles	7900	High	High
Toro Canyon	Santa Barbara	1728	High	High
Val Verde	Los Angeles	2734	High	High
Valle Vista	Riverside	17663	High	High
Villa Park	Orange	5861	High	High
Warm Springs	Riverside	1874	High	High
Westlake Village	Los Angeles	8358	High	High
Willow Creek	Humboldt	1513	High	High
Wrightwood	San Bernardino	3984	High	High
Yorba Linda	Orange	67725	High	High