Wildfire risk in Riverside County: where it is highest, and why
Wildfire risk in Riverside County spans a wide range from place to place. Across the places we scored, values run from 15.5 in Coachella to 84.7 in East Hemet, with a county midpoint of 47.9.
Riverside County — the largest fires on record, at their perimeter centres, with the county’s main communities. Select a marker for its detail.
At a glance
Half of Riverside County scores Moderate or worse
We scored 210 points across Riverside County on the same 0–100 scale a Satelife address report uses, and they do not land in one place. 10% of them come out Very High, while 5% are Low. Which end your own parcel sits at is not something a county map can tell you.
10%
33%
51%
Very High10% · 22 of 210 pointsHigh33% · 70 of 210 pointsModerate51% · 108 of 210 pointsLow5% · 10 of 210 points
Safest end we measured15.5near Coachella · Low
Middle of the county47.9Moderate — half of Riverside County is above this
Most exposed end we measured84.7near East Hemet · Very High
And the federal models agree it is a fire county
Very HighFEMA National Risk Index — wildfire risk rating · index score 100 / 100
$346.6M / yrFEMA NRI — expected annual loss from wildfire · rated Very High
0.79%USFS Wildfire Risk to Communities — mean annual burn probability · 90th-percentile cell 3.23%
3.73 ftUSFS WRC — mean conditional flame length · 65% of the county carries burnable fuel
FEMA NRI also rates Riverside County: all-hazards risk Very High · social vulnerability Relatively Low · community resilience Very Low · annualised wildfire frequency 0.0194.
Sources: 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.
What does your Riverside County address score?
A county range shows the spread. Your parcel sits somewhere inside it — the report says where, and what to do about it.
Free to request · PDF report with a 0–100 score, the drivers behind it, and a mitigation plan
Local context
What the data says about Riverside County
Most scored locations fall in the Moderate tier: 108 points were Moderate, compared with 70 High, 22 Very High, and 10 Low.
At the county level, FEMA’s National Risk Index rates Riverside County as “Very High” for wildfire risk and “Very High” for wildfire expected annual loss. FEMA also rates the county’s social vulnerability as “Relatively Low” and community resilience as “Very Low.”
Fire record
Where the fires actually were
Since 1984, 755,653 acres have burned in Riverside County, and 16.2% of the county has burned. The county record also lists 689 fire perimeters since 1984.
The largest fire in this record is the Esperanza fire (2006), at 40,177 acres. The most recent large fire is Shore (2026).
Other major fires in the county record include Fairview (2022), at 28,146 acres, and Apple (2020), at 33,236 acres, which is marked as partly in the county.
Fairview Fire, 2022 — Riverside County.
Photo: Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department · Public domainEsperanza Fire, 2006 — Riverside County.
Photo: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Space Systems, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team · Public domain
689mapped fire perimeters centred in the county since 1984
755,653acres inside those perimeters since 1984
16.2%of the county's area, as a share of 18,831.3 km²
Shore 2026most recent large fire on record
Before 20002000s2010s2020s
Fire perimeters coloured by decade. Select a perimeter for its name, year and size.
Named fires on record
Fairview Fire202228,146 acres
Esperanza Fire200640,177 acres
Mountain Fire201327,524 acres
Holy Fire201823,025 acres
FMU Broadcast Burn Fire201921,018 acres
Dry Falls Fire198041,756 acres
Silver Fire201320,308 acres
Apple Fire202033,236 acres in totalcrossed into the county
Perimeter sources: NIFC Interagency Fire Perimeter History · WFIGS Interagency Perimeters · largest on record: Esperanza 2006.
Perimeters are simplified for display; acreage is the figure the source records.
Communities
Where in the county you are matters most
For major population centers, scores include Riverside at 30.9, Moreno Valley at 38.4, and Temecula at 43.0. Those are all lower than some nearby edge communities.
Higher-scoring town markets include Lake Elsinore at 63.2, Beaumont at 62.2, and Banning at 60.1.
Several smaller communities score higher still, including Juniper Springs at 81.0, Lake Mathews at 78.2, and Sage at 77.4.
Juniper Springsvillage
81 Very High
Anzavillage · 3,075 people
79.5 Very High
Radecvillage
78.5 Very High
Lake Mathewsvillage
78.2 Very High
Meadowbrookvillage
78.2 Very High
Sagevillage
77.4 Very High
De Luz Ranchosvillage
76.7 Very High
Idyllwildvillage · 3,874 people
75.2 Very High
New Santa Rosa / Sew’iavillage
72.8 High
Winchestertown
69.4 High
50 more communities in Riverside County
Palm Springscity · 44,575 people
67.5 High
GlenOak Hillsvillage
64.6 High
Lake Elsinoretown · 45,033 people
63.2 High
Beaumonttown · 26,625 people
62.2 High
Morgan Valleyvillage
60.8 High
Banningtown · 29,266 people
60.1 High
East Hemetvillage
59.2 High
Rancho Miragetown · 16,999 people
57.5 High
Homelandvillage
57.1 High
Wildomartown · 36,066 people
56.8 High
French Valleyvillage · 23,067 people
56.1 High
Murrietacity · 109,830 people
55.8 High
Meccavillage · 8,219 people
55.3 High
San Jacintotown · 48,867 people
53.2 High
Temescal Valleytown
49 Moderate
Indio Hillsvillage · 1,048 people
47.6 Moderate
Sky Valleyvillage · 2,411 people
47.5 Moderate
Desert Hot Springstown · 32,512 people
47.1 Moderate
Calimesatown · 7,470 people
46.2 Moderate
Lakeviewvillage · 1,977 people
46.1 Moderate
Mead Valleyvillage
45.3 Moderate
Pechangavillage
43.3 Moderate
Temeculacity · 112,011 people
43 Moderate
Jurupa Valleytown · 98,842 people
43 Moderate
Nuevovillage · 6,733 people
42.3 Moderate
Indiocity · 89,137 people
38.9 Moderate
Perristown · 51,397 people
38.9 Moderate
Desert Edgevillage · 4,180 people
38.8 Moderate
Thermalvillage · 2,676 people
38.6 Moderate
Moreno Valleycity · 183,571 people
38.4 Moderate
Canyon Laketown · 10,561 people
38.2 Moderate
Desert Palmsvillage · 6,686 people
38.2 Moderate
Cathedral Citycity · 51,493 people
37.1 Moderate
Coronacity · 150,308 people
36.2 Moderate
Bermuda Dunesvillage · 8,244 people
35.9 Moderate
El Cerritovillage
35.5 Moderate
Horsethief Canyon Ranchvillage
34.6 Moderate
Coachellacity · 41,941 people
33.1 Moderate
Riversidecity · 322,424 people
30.9 Moderate
Eastvaletown · 65,000 people
30.2 Moderate
Hemettown · 70,136 people
30.1 Moderate
Thousand Palmsvillage · 7,967 people
28.4 Moderate
Menifeecity · 102,527 people
28.1 Moderate
La Quintatown · 37,558 people
27.8 Moderate
Norcotown · 27,051 people
26.8 Moderate
Vista Santa Rosavillage · 2,607 people
26 Moderate
Oasisvillage · 4,468 people
19.9 Low
Blythetown · 18,317 people
18.8 Low
Palm Desertcity · 51,163 people
17.9 Low
Indian Wellsvillage · 4,757 people
17.9 Low
The 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.
Terrain & fuels
Terrain, vegetation and fuels
Terrain-related wildfire exposure ranges from 5.0 in Oasis to 65.0 near Anza, with a county midpoint of 40.0.
Vegetation and fuels are elevated in many scored locations, with a midpoint of 71.0. The highest scored location for vegetation and fuels is De Luz Ranchos at 80.0, while Oasis is at 5.0.
These terrain and fuels patterns are associated with why neighboring communities can land in different wildfire-risk tiers.
40median terrain score (max 65 near Anza)
71median vegetation & fuels score (max 80 near De Luz Ranchos)
LANDFIRE existing vegetation type across Riverside County — the same fuel data that feeds the
vegetation layer of a Satelife property report.
Fire weather
Fire weather across Riverside County
Fire weather was measured across the county’s scored locations. Values run from 51.0 in Idyllwild to 68.2 in Palm Springs, with a midpoint of 61.4.
Separate from fire weather, the USFS Wildfire Risk to Communities model reports a mean annual burn probability of 0.79% and a 90th-percentile cell burn probability of 3.23%.
That same USFS model indicates 65.4% of the county can burn.
51lowest fire-weather score — near Idyllwild
68.2highest fire-weather score — near Palm Springs
What drives it
Which part of the risk moves, and which doesn't
Risk is not uniform across Riverside County. In larger cities, Palm Desert is at 17.9 while Palm Springs is at 67.5, showing how different nearby markets can look.
Among towns and villages, scores also spread widely: Blythe is at 18.8, while Anza is at 79.5 and Idyllwild is at 75.2.
At the high end of the scored places, East Hemet reaches 84.7. At the low end, Coachella is 15.5.
Each bar is what one part of the score covers across Riverside 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.
Terrain
5–65highest near Anza
Vegetation & fuels
5–80highest near De Luz Ranchos
Hazard zone
10–99.1highest near New Santa Rosa / Sew’ia
Fire history
5–95highest near De Luz Ranchos
Fire weather
51–68.2highest near Palm Springs
Overall score
15.5–84.7highest near East Hemet
The 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.
Show every number behind these bars
Layer
Min
Median
Max
Lowest place
Highest place
Points
Terrain
5
40
65
Oasis
near Anza
210
Vegetation & fuels
5
71
80
Oasis
De Luz Ranchos
210
Hazard zone
10
20.9
99.1
near Anza
New Santa Rosa / Sew’ia
210
Fire history
5
35
95
Oasis
De Luz Ranchos
210
Fire weather
51
61.4
68.2
Idyllwild
Palm Springs
210
Composite
15.5
47.9
84.7
Coachella
East Hemet
210
Independently of Satelife's layers, the USFS Wildfire Risk to Communities grid puts the county's mean annual burn probability at 0.79% (90th percentile cell: 3.23%), with a mean conditional flame length of 3.73 ft. 65% of the 34,742 grid cells inside the county carry burnable fuel at all.
Source: USFS Wildfire Risk to Communities v2.0 (ImageServer, county extent).
CAL FIRE has no mapped Fire Hazard Severity Zone at 95 of the 210 sampled points — the zones cover Local Responsibility Areas. At 55 of them the USFS grid above supplied the hazard reading instead; at the remaining 40 the hazard weight is renormalised away rather than scored as low.
210 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.
For a property
What a county range means for one address
Two property-relevant drivers vary sharply by location. Hazard-zone values run from 10.0 near Anza to 99.1 in New Santa Rosa / Sew’ia, with a midpoint of 20.9.
Local fire-history exposure also ranges widely, from 5.0 in Oasis to 95.0 in De Luz Ranchos, with a midpoint of 35.0.
For buyers and owners, that variation is why address-level results can differ even inside the same city or ZIP area.
Across 210 sampled points in Riverside County, the score runs from
15.5 to 84.7 — 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.
Find out where your Riverside County parcel sits
Slope, the fuel touching the structure, the road out, the fire history within a mile — measured at your address, not averaged across the county.
Free to request · PDF report with a 0–100 score, the drivers behind it, and a mitigation plan
Coverage
ZIP codes we cover in Riverside County
Every one of the 100 ZIP areas that touch Riverside 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.
Frequently asked questions about Riverside County wildfire risk
Is Riverside County considered high wildfire risk overall?
Yes at the county scale: FEMA’s National Risk Index rates Riverside County “Very High” for wildfire risk and “Very High” for wildfire expected annual loss.
How much of Riverside County has burned?
Since 1984, 755,653 acres have burned, which equals 16.2% of the county.
What are the key named fires to know?
The largest fire in this record is Esperanza (2006) at 40,177 acres. The most recent large fire is Shore (2026).
Does wildfire risk really change that much within the county?
Yes. In the scored places, values range from 15.5 in Coachella to 84.7 in East Hemet.
Is fire weather the same thing as burn probability?
No. Fire weather is a separate measure; in this county it ranges from 51.0 to 68.2 across scored locations. The USFS model’s mean annual burn probability is 0.79%.
This page is generated from a Riverside County data pack assembled on 2026-08-18 (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.
What does your parcel look like, layer by layer?
A 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.
