{
  "title": "Wildfire Risk in Imperial County, CA 2026 | Satelife",
  "description": "Wildfire risk in Imperial County spans a wide range across the places we scored. The overall score runs from 11.7 to 77.8, with a middle value of 39.1. That means conditions can look very different from one part of the county to another.",
  "image": "https://satelife.ai/images/wildfire-risk/imperial-county/generated/imperial-county-locator.webp",
  "canonical": "https://satelife.ai/wildfire-risk/california/imperial-county/",
  "content": "[Home](/)›[Wildfire Risk](/wildfire-risk/)›[California](/wildfire-risk/california/)›Imperial County\n\nImperial County, California\n\n# Wildfire risk in Imperial County: _where it is highest_, and why\n\nWildfire risk in Imperial County spans a wide range across the places we scored. The overall score runs from 11.7 to 77.8, with a middle value of 39.1. That means conditions can look very different from one part of the county to another.\n\n[Score my Imperial County address →](#score-my-address) [How risky is this county? ↓](#risk-at-a-glance)\n\nBefore 20002000s2010s2020sCommunity\n\nImperial County — the largest fires on record, at their perimeter centres, with the county’s main communities. Select a marker for its detail.\n\nAt a glance\n\n## Half of Imperial County scores _Moderate_ or worse\n\nWe scored 165 points across Imperial County on the same 0–100 scale a Satelife address report uses, and they do not land in one place. 1% of them come out Very High, while 22% are Low. Which end your own parcel sits at is not something a county map can tell you.\n\n69%\n\n22%\n\n**Very High** 1% · 1 of 165 points **High** 8% · 14 of 165 points **Moderate** 69% · 114 of 165 points **Low** 22% · 36 of 165 points\n\nSafest end we measured 11.7 near Salton City · Low\n\nMiddle of the county 39.1 Moderate — half of Imperial County is above this\n\nMost exposed end we measured 77.8 near Ocotillo · Very High\n\n### And the federal models agree it is a fire county\n\nRelatively Low FEMA National Risk Index — wildfire risk rating · index score 76 / 100\n\n$184k / yr FEMA NRI — expected annual loss from wildfire · rated Relatively Low\n\n0.04% USFS Wildfire Risk to Communities — mean annual burn probability · 90th-percentile cell 0.11%\n\n1.61 ft USFS WRC — mean conditional flame length · 36% of the county carries burnable fuel\n\nFEMA NRI also rates Imperial County: all-hazards risk Relatively High · social vulnerability Very High · community resilience Very Low · annualised wildfire frequency 0.0008.\n\nSources: FEMA National Risk Index 1.20.0 (Dec 2025), county record · USFS Wildfire Risk to Communities v2.0, mean of the grid cells inside the county. Both describe the county as a whole, never an address in it.\n\nWhat does your Imperial County address score?\n\nA county range shows the spread. Your parcel sits somewhere inside it — the report says where, and what to do about it.\n\nFree to request · PDF report with a 0–100 score, the drivers behind it, and a mitigation plan\n\nLocal context\n\n## What the data says about _Imperial County_\n\nMost scored places fell in the Moderate tier, with 114 points there. Low came next with 36 points, while High had 14 and Very High had 1.\n\nFor county-wide context, FEMA’s National Risk Index rates Imperial County’s wildfire risk as Relatively Low and its wildfire expected annual loss as Relatively Low. In the same FEMA system, the county’s all-hazards risk is rated Relatively High.\n\nFire record\n\n## Where the fires _actually were_\n\nSince 1984, fire perimeters in Imperial County add up to 49 incidents and 8,717 acres. That equals 0.3% of the county area burned over that period.\n\nThe largest fire listed here is Island Lake (2013), at 2,109 acres.\n\nThe most recent large fire is West Main (2023), at 1,028 acres.\n\n49 mapped fire perimeters centred in the county since 1984\n\n8,717 acres inside those perimeters since 1984\n\n0.3% of the county's area, as a share of 11,562.6 km²\n\nWest Main 2023 most recent large fire on record\n\nBefore 20002000s2010s2020s \n\nFire perimeters coloured by decade. Select a perimeter for its name, year and size.\n\nNamed fires on record\n\n-   **Island Lake Fire**20132,109 acres\n-   **West Main Fire**20231,028 acres\n-   **Clip Fire**20211,068 acres\n-   **Draper Fire**2017833 acres\n-   **Broadway Fire**2025841 acres in totalcrossed into the county\n-   **Inkopah Fire**2007699 acres\n-   **Foster Fire**2026236 acres\n-   **Highline Fire**2013262 acres\n\nPerimeter sources: NIFC Interagency Fire Perimeter History · WFIGS Interagency Perimeters · largest on record: Island Lake 2013. Perimeters are simplified for display; acreage is the figure the source records.\n\nCommunities\n\n## Where in the county you are _matters most_\n\nAmong larger population centers, scored risk is lower in El Centro (15.6) and sits somewhat higher in Calexico (20.5) and Brawley (21.1).\n\nSeveral smaller communities score higher, including Niland (38.7), Slab City (43.4), and Winterhaven (49.2). That spread is why local address-level context matters inside the same county.\n\nWinterhaven village · 390 people\n\n49.2 _Moderate_\n\nSlab City village · 200 people\n\n43.4 _Moderate_\n\nOcotillo village\n\n40.5 _Moderate_\n\nDixieland village\n\n40.1 _Moderate_\n\nNiland village · 756 people\n\n38.7 _Moderate_\n\nSalton City village · 5,155 people\n\n37.1 _Moderate_\n\nHeber village\n\n30.6 _Moderate_\n\nCalipatria village · 6,515 people\n\n24.5 _Low_\n\nHoltville town · 5,605 people\n\n23.7 _Low_\n\nImperial town · 20,263 people\n\n22.9 _Low_\n\n5 more communities in Imperial County\n\nSeeley town\n\n22.4 _Low_\n\nBrawley town · 26,416 people\n\n21.1 _Low_\n\nCalexico town · 38,633 people\n\n20.5 _Low_\n\nWestmorland village · 2,014 people\n\n20.4 _Low_\n\nEl Centro city · 44,322 people\n\n15.6 _Low_\n\nThe score is the median of the sampled points nearest that community — a community-scale indicator, not a score for any individual property in it. Population comes from the community's own record where the source carries one.\n\nTerrain & fuels\n\n## Terrain, vegetation and _fuels_\n\nTerrain scores range from 5.0 in Heber to 65.0 near Ocotillo, with a county middle of 20.0. In plain terms, slope and landform exposure are much stronger in some areas than others.\n\nVegetation and fuels are generally higher than terrain in this county: scores run from 5.0 near Westmorland up to 80.0 in Heber, with a middle of 70.0. That pattern contributes to wildfire risk in places where burnable cover is more continuous.\n\n20 median terrain score (max 65 near Ocotillo)\n\n70 median vegetation & fuels score (max 80 near Heber)\n\nFire weather\n\n## Fire weather across _Imperial County_\n\nFire-weather scores are consistently elevated across the places scored, ranging from 57.0 in Salton City to 67.0 near Slab City, with a middle value of 59.3.\n\nA separate USFS Wildfire Risk to Communities product reports a mean annual burn probability of 0.04% and a 90th-percentile cell value of 0.11%. It also shows 36.2% of the county as burnable in that model; this is a modeled burn-probability view, not a fire-weather score.\n\n57 lowest fire-weather score — near Salton City\n\n67 highest fire-weather score — near Slab City\n\nWhat drives it\n\n## Which part of the risk _moves_, and which doesn't\n\nRisk is not uniform between communities. In the places scored, El Centro is on the lower end at 15.6, while Winterhaven is higher at 49.2.\n\nYou also see big shifts within local areas. The highest scored location is near Ocotillo at 77.8, while the lowest scored location is in Salton City at 11.7, even though Salton City’s community middle score is 37.1.\n\nEach bar is what one part of the score covers across Imperial County, on the same 0–100 scale. A long bar is a part of the risk that depends on where you are; a short one is the same almost everywhere.\n\nTerrain\n\n5–65 highest near Ocotillo\n\nVegetation & fuels\n\n5–80 highest near Heber\n\nHazard zone\n\n10–53.1 highest near Salton City\n\nFire history\n\n5–95 highest near Winterhaven\n\nFire weather\n\n57–67 highest near Slab City\n\nOverall score\n\n11.7–77.8 highest near Ocotillo\n\nThe tick on each bar is the middle value. Tier boundaries — Moderate at 25, High at 50, Very High at 75 — are the faint lines behind them.\n\nShow every number behind these bars\n\nLayer\n\nMin\n\nMedian\n\nMax\n\nLowest place\n\nHighest place\n\nPoints\n\nTerrain\n\n5\n\n20\n\n65\n\nHeber\n\nnear Ocotillo\n\n165\n\nVegetation & fuels\n\n5\n\n70\n\n80\n\nnear Westmorland\n\nHeber\n\n165\n\nHazard zone\n\n10\n\n10\n\n53.1\n\nnear Ocotillo\n\nnear Salton City\n\n165\n\nFire history\n\n5\n\n5\n\n95\n\nnear Ocotillo\n\nWinterhaven\n\n165\n\nFire weather\n\n57\n\n59.3\n\n67\n\nSalton City\n\nnear Slab City\n\n165\n\nComposite\n\n11.7\n\n39.1\n\n77.8\n\nSalton City\n\nnear Ocotillo\n\n165\n\nIndependently of Satelife's layers, the USFS Wildfire Risk to Communities grid puts the county's mean annual burn probability at **0.04%** (90th percentile cell: **0.11%**), with a mean conditional flame length of **1.61 ft**. **36%** of the 33,477 grid cells inside the county carry burnable fuel at all.\n\nSource: USFS Wildfire Risk to Communities v2.0 (ImageServer, county extent).\n\nCAL FIRE has no mapped Fire Hazard Severity Zone at **92** of the 165 sampled points — the zones cover Local Responsibility Areas, and most of this county is state or federal land. At **30** of them the USFS grid above supplied the hazard reading instead; at the remaining 62 the hazard weight is renormalised away rather than scored as low.\n\n165 sample points on a ~2.3 km grid, plus one at the centre of each community, weighted with the Satelife county profile v1 · median layer coverage 100%. Scores are 0–100 and comparable within the county, not across states.\n\nFor a property\n\n## What a county range means for _one address_\n\nFor property context, hazard-zone scores are low in many places, with a middle value of 10.0, but they rise to 53.1 near Salton City. So this factor can change a lot by location.\n\nFire-history scores are low in many scored places (middle 5.0), but they reach 95.0 in Winterhaven. This layer reflects where past fire footprints are more present and where they are less present.\n\nAcross 165 sampled points in Imperial County, the score runs from 11.7 to 77.8 — two neighbouring parcels can sit in different tiers. A county number is the middle of that spread; it says nothing about which end yours is at.\n\nFind out where your Imperial County parcel sits\n\nSlope, the fuel touching the structure, the road out, the fire history within a mile — measured at your address, not averaged across the county.\n\nFree to request · PDF report with a 0–100 score, the drivers behind it, and a mitigation plan\n\nCoverage\n\n## ZIP codes we cover in Imperial County\n\nEvery one of the 23 ZIP areas that touch Imperial County — we run address-level reports in all of them. They are grouped by the median score of the points we sampled inside each, which is a neighbourhood-scale indicator and **not** a score for any property: two homes in the same ZIP routinely land in different tiers.\n\n**Moderate** 12 ZIPs\n\n-   [92283 Winterhaven46](/wildfire-risk/zip/92283/)\n-   [92266 45](/wildfire-risk/zip/92266/)\n-   [92257 Slab City40](/wildfire-risk/zip/92257/)\n-   [92259 Ocotillo40](/wildfire-risk/zip/92259/)\n-   [92004 Salton City39](/wildfire-risk/zip/92004/)\n-   [92274 Salton City38](/wildfire-risk/zip/92274/)\n-   [92227 Brawley37](/wildfire-risk/zip/92227/)\n-   [92250 Holtville36](/wildfire-risk/zip/92250/)\n-   [92251 Seeley33](/wildfire-risk/zip/92251/)\n-   [92275 Salton City30](/wildfire-risk/zip/92275/)\n-   [92233 Calipatria28](/wildfire-risk/zip/92233/)\n-   [92231 Heber27](/wildfire-risk/zip/92231/)\n\n**Low** 4 ZIPs\n\n-   [92243 El Centro21](/wildfire-risk/zip/92243/)\n-   [92273 Seeley16](/wildfire-risk/zip/92273/)\n-   [92249 Heber16](/wildfire-risk/zip/92249/)\n-   [92281 Westmorland16](/wildfire-risk/zip/92281/)\n\n**No sampled point inside** 7 ZIPs\n\n[85328](/wildfire-risk/zip/85328/) · [85364 Winterhaven](/wildfire-risk/zip/85364/) · [85365](/wildfire-risk/zip/85365/) · [91934 Ocotillo](/wildfire-risk/zip/91934/) · [92036](/wildfire-risk/zip/92036/) · [92222 Winterhaven](/wildfire-risk/zip/92222/) · [92225](/wildfire-risk/zip/92225/)\n\nGrouped from 16 of 23 ZIP areas — the rest had no sample point fall inside them. The community shown is the nearest mapped place to the ZIP's centre.\n\nZIP areas are Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas intersecting the county boundary.\n\nWhere to go next\n\n## Imperial County wildfire risk _in context_\n\n[California wildfire risk The statewide picture and every county page we publish](/wildfire-risk/california/) [Wildfire risk by state Every state and county we cover](/wildfire-risk/) [How Satelife calculates wildfire risk Data sources, layers, score composition, honest limits](/wildfire-risk/methodology/) [Create a wildfire evacuation plan Zones, egress routes, refuge areas](/wildfire-evacuation-plan/) [Run a report for a Imperial County address PDF + score + mitigation plan](/#cta)\n\nFAQ\n\n## Frequently asked questions about _Imperial County wildfire risk_\n\nIs wildfire risk the same everywhere in Imperial County?\n\nNo. Scores in the places we scored range from 11.7 to 77.8, so risk conditions vary substantially by location.\n\nWhat are the key recent fire facts for this county?\n\nSince 1984, 49 fire perimeters have burned 8,717 acres in the county, or 0.3% of county area. The largest listed fire is Island Lake (2013), and the most recent large fire is West Main (2023).\n\nWhat does FEMA say about county-wide wildfire risk?\n\nFEMA’s National Risk Index rates Imperial County’s wildfire risk as Relatively Low and wildfire expected annual loss as Relatively Low. FEMA’s all-hazards risk rating for the county is Relatively High.\n\nAre fire-weather conditions low here because some towns have lower overall scores?\n\nNot necessarily. Fire-weather scores are high and fairly tight across the county’s scored places (57.0 to 67.0), while overall wildfire risk still varies because other factors differ by location.\n\nThis page is generated from a Imperial County data pack assembled on 2026-08-19 (pack v1.0). Scores are sampled across the county, not measured at any individual address, and are informational decision support — not a substitute for official evacuation orders, a fire-agency hazard determination, or an insurer's underwriting judgement. Data versions: fema\\_nri 1.20.0 (Dec 2025) · landfire per adapter · nifc\\_history All Years View · wfigs current · wrc v2.0 (2024) · zcta Census 2020.\n\n## What does _your parcel_ look like, layer by layer?\n\nA county range shows the spread. An address-level Satelife report shows where in that spread your property actually sits — PDF, per-layer score, and a prioritized mitigation plan.\n\n[Start with your address →](/#cta)\n\n[![PRR](/images/prr.png)](/ficha-de-website-voucher-satelife.pdf)\n\n© 2024–2026 Satelife, Lda. All rights reserved.\n\nSatelife reports are for informational purposes only and do not constitute insurance, financial, or legal advice."
}