Wildfire risk in San Bernardino County: where it is highest, and why
Wildfire risk in San Bernardino County spans a wide range from place to place. Across the places we scored, the overall scores run from 16.7 in San Bernardino up to 85.8 in Apple Valley, with a middle value of 47.0.
San Bernardino 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 San Bernardino County scores Moderate or worse
We scored 202 points across San Bernardino County on the same 0–100 scale a Satelife address report uses, and they do not land in one place. 3% of them come out Very High, while 7% are Low. Which end your own parcel sits at is not something a county map can tell you.
37%
53%
Very High3% · 7 of 202 pointsHigh37% · 74 of 202 pointsModerate53% · 107 of 202 pointsLow7% · 14 of 202 points
Safest end we measured16.7near San Bernardino · Low
Middle of the county47Moderate — half of San Bernardino County is above this
Most exposed end we measured85.8near Apple Valley · Very High
And the federal models agree it is a fire county
Very HighFEMA National Risk Index — wildfire risk rating · index score 99.9 / 100
$145.7M / yrFEMA NRI — expected annual loss from wildfire · rated Very High
0.40%USFS Wildfire Risk to Communities — mean annual burn probability · 90th-percentile cell 0.64%
3.72 ftUSFS WRC — mean conditional flame length · 88% of the county carries burnable fuel
FEMA NRI also rates San Bernardino County: all-hazards risk Very High · social vulnerability Relatively Low · community resilience Relatively Low · annualised wildfire frequency 0.0095.
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 San Bernardino 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 San Bernardino County
FEMA’s National Risk Index rates the county’s wildfire risk as Very High, and its wildfire expected annual loss rating is also Very High. FEMA also rates the county’s all-hazards risk as Very High.
Another countywide view points the same way: 7.1% of the county has burned since 1984, and 87.5% of the county is in areas that can burn.
Fire record
Where the fires actually were
Since 1984, San Bernardino County has had 448 fire perimeters and 915,062 acres burned. That history is part of why risk is a practical issue for owners, buyers, and agents.
The largest fire listed here is the York fire in 2023 at 93,078 acres. The most recent large fire is Gold (2025).
The Old fire (2003) is also a key event in this county record: it burned 91,428 acres and destroyed 1,003 structures.
York Fire, 2023 — San Bernardino County.
Photo: US Federal Government · Public domainOld Fire, 2003 — San Bernardino County.
Photo: Kevin Galvin · Public domain
448mapped fire perimeters centred in the county since 1984
915,062acres inside those perimeters since 1984
7.1%of the county's area, as a share of 51,824.4 km²
Gold 2025most 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
York Fire202393,078 acres
Old Fire200391,428 acres1,003 structures destroyed
Line Fire202443,976 acres
Sawtooth Complex Fire200661,767 acres
Wildhorse Fire200563,771 acres
Apple Fire202033,236 acres
Blue Cut Fire201636,267 acres
Willow Fire199963,508 acres
Perimeter sources: NIFC Interagency Fire Perimeter History · WFIGS Interagency Perimeters · largest on record: York 2023.
Perimeters are simplified for display; acreage is the figure the source records.
Communities
Where in the county you are matters most
Among the largest cities, San Bernardino, Fontana, and Ontario each have an overall score of 16.7. Rancho Cucamonga is higher at 26.7, and Victorville is higher still at 45.3.
Several mountain and high-desert communities score much higher, including Wrightwood at 74.7 and Running Springs at 71.4. Apple Valley is elevated at 66.5, and nearby Lucerne Valley is 75.2.
You can also see sharp differences between nearby communities: Chino is 16.7, while Chino Hills is 59.0.
Lucerne Valleyvillage
75.2 Very High
Wrightwoodtown · 4,525 people
74.7 High
Mount Baldyvillage
73.7 High
Running Springstown · 4,862 people
71.4 High
Piñon Hillstown · 7,258 people
71.3 High
Crestlinetown · 11,650 people
70.6 High
Apple Valleytown · 68,886 people
66.5 High
Twin Peaksvillage
63.6 High
Oak Hillstown · 9,450 people
62.1 High
Big Bear Citytown · 12,738 people
61 High
42 more communities in San Bernardino County
Rimforestvillage
61 High
Agua Friavillage
59.8 High
Blue Jayvillage
59.8 High
Chino Hillstown · 74,799 people
59 High
Yucca Valleytown · 21,738 people
57.5 High
Big Bear Laketown · 5,046 people
57.5 High
Morongo Valleyvillage · 3,514 people
57.5 High
Lake Arrowheadtown · 12,401 people
55.9 High
Big Rivervillage · 1,084 people
54 High
Redlandstown · 68,747 people
49.9 Moderate
Helendalevillage
46.9 Moderate
Highlandtown · 51,550 people
46.6 Moderate
Victorvillecity · 122,225 people
45.3 Moderate
Joshua Treetown · 6,489 people
45.2 Moderate
Phelantown
40.8 Moderate
Fort Irwinvillage · 8,096 people
40.8 Moderate
Mentonevillage
40.7 Moderate
Yermovillage · 623 people
40 Moderate
Yucaipatown · 50,223 people
39.7 Moderate
Bakervillage · 442 people
38.9 Moderate
Silver Lakesvillage · 6,317 people
38.3 Moderate
Lenwoodvillage · 3,623 people
37.1 Moderate
Needlestown · 5,330 people
36.7 Moderate
Daggettvillage
35 Moderate
Tronavillage
34.2 Moderate
Argusvillage
34.1 Moderate
Hesperiacity · 99,818 people
30.9 Moderate
Adelantotown · 38,644 people
29.8 Moderate
Rancho Cucamongacity · 170,714 people
26.7 Moderate
Grand Terracetown · 12,250 people
24.4 Low
Bloomingtontown · 23,851 people
22.2 Low
Barstowcity · 25,415 people
20.8 Low
Twentynine Palmstown · 28,065 people
20.8 Low
Rialtotown · 99,467 people
20 Low
Loma Lindatown · 23,261 people
20 Low
San Bernardinocity · 222,101 people
16.7 Low
Fontanacity · 196,069 people
16.7 Low
Ontariocity · 173,351 people
16.7 Low
Chinotown · 77,983 people
16.7 Low
Uplandtown · 73,379 people
16.7 Low
Coltontown · 51,427 people
16.7 Low
Montclairtown · 35,544 people
16.7 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
Fire weather was not measured at all in this county view.
What was measured shows strong terrain and fuel influence. Terrain scores run from 20.0 in unincorporated San Bernardino County to 65.0 in Yucca Valley, with a middle value of 65.0.
Vegetation and fuels also vary: the lowest scored place is San Bernardino at 20.0, while Joshua Tree reaches 80.0, with a middle value of 74.3.
65median terrain score (max 65 near Yucca Valley)
74.3median vegetation & fuels score (max 80 near Joshua Tree)
LANDFIRE existing vegetation type across San Bernardino County — the same fuel data that feeds the
vegetation layer of a Satelife property report.
Fire weather
Fire weather across San Bernardino County
Fire weather was not measured at the sampled points in San Bernardino County. The other four
indicators on this page were, and the bars below show what they found.
What drives it
Which part of the risk moves, and which doesn't
Risk is not evenly distributed across the county. The lowest scored locations are at 16.7, while the highest scored location reaches 85.8.
Most scored locations fall in the Moderate tier (107 points), followed by High (74 points). There are fewer points in Low (14) and Very High (7).
In plain terms, that means many areas sit in the middle, but there are still pockets at both ends of the risk scale.
Each bar is what one part of the score covers across San Bernardino 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
20–65highest near Yucca Valley
Vegetation & fuels
20–80highest near Joshua Tree
Hazard zone
10–95highest near Apple Valley
Fire history
5–95highest near Yucca Valley
Overall score
16.7–85.8highest near Apple Valley
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
20
65
65
unincorporated San Bernardino County
Yucca Valley
202
Vegetation & fuels
20
74.3
80
San Bernardino
Joshua Tree
202
Hazard zone
10
24.2
95
Mentone
Apple Valley
202
Fire history
5
5
95
unincorporated San Bernardino County
Yucca Valley
202
Composite
16.7
47
85.8
San Bernardino
Apple Valley
202
Independently of Satelife's layers, the USFS Wildfire Risk to Communities grid puts the county's mean annual burn probability at 0.40% (90th percentile cell: 0.64%), with a mean conditional flame length of 3.72 ft. 88% of the 28,832 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 116 of the 202 sampled points — the zones cover Local Responsibility Areas, and most of this county is state or federal land. At 63 of them the USFS grid above supplied the hazard reading instead; at the remaining 53 the hazard weight is renormalised away rather than scored as low.
202 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 90%. Scores are 0–100 and comparable within the county, not across states.
For a property
What a county range means for one address
At property scale, two nearby locations can sit in very different risk conditions. Hazard zone scores run from 10.0 in Mentone up to 95.0 in Apple Valley.
Fire history intensity also ranges widely, from 5.0 in unincorporated San Bernardino County to 95.0 in Yucca Valley. These patterns are associated with why some neighborhoods score much higher than others.
A separate countywide burn-probability view reports a mean annual burn probability of 0.40%, with a 90th-percentile cell value of 0.64%. This is a burn-probability measure, not fire weather.
Across 202 sampled points in San Bernardino County, the score runs from
16.7 to 85.8 — 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.
Find out where your San Bernardino 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 San Bernardino County
Every one of the 129 ZIP areas that touch San Bernardino 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 San Bernardino County wildfire risk
Is wildfire risk basically the same across San Bernardino County?
No. Scores range from 16.7 in San Bernardino to 85.8 in Apple Valley. Most scored locations are in the Moderate tier, but High and Very High locations are present too.
What does FEMA say about countywide wildfire risk?
FEMA’s National Risk Index rates San Bernardino County’s wildfire risk as Very High and its wildfire expected annual loss rating as Very High.
Which fires should I recognize in this county record?
The largest fire listed is York (2023) at 93,078 acres. The most recent large fire is Gold (2025). The Old fire (2003) burned 91,428 acres and destroyed 1,003 structures.
Was fire weather included in these county risk measurements?
No. Fire weather was not measured at all in this county view. The measurements here include terrain, vegetation and fuels, hazard zone, and fire history.
This page is generated from a San Bernardino 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.
