Bayley Hotel · Photo: YankeeSpirit · CC BY-SA 3.0FEMA puts Auburn Lake Trails’s expected hazard damage per building above that of 94% of U.S. towns, mostly from wildfire
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Auburn Lake Trails gets a D for hazard risk: higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns, #508 of 847 in California. Most of that expected damage is wildfire (77%), then river and rain flooding (20%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.
Graded on FEMA’s expected yearly building damage per dollar of building value (NRI v1.20, December 2025), weighted by where residents live; flood claims are shown, not graded. How hazard risk is graded
What Auburn Lake Trails faces
Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.
Wildfire
River and rain flooding
Shares are of FEMA’s expected building damage, the measure the grade uses; ranks compare each hazard’s building-damage rate with all 85,154 U.S. census tracts. In FEMA’s terms, river and rain flooding is FEMA’s “Inland Flooding” (rivers and streams overflowing their banks, or rain overwhelming drainage). FEMA defines coastal flooding as high or rising tides and storm surge, so surge damage is counted there. Drought isn’t listed: FEMA counts its losses in crops only.
What’s behind Auburn Lake Trails’ grade
Wildfire is 77% of the building damage FEMA expects in Auburn Lake Trails, and Auburn Lake Trails’ rate of wildfire damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. Next is river and rain flooding at 20% (lower than 60% of U.S. census tracts).
D #508 of 847 in California; higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns (21,298).
All of Auburn Lake Trails’ residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.
The typical California town has higher expected damage than 92% of U.S. towns; within the state, Auburn Lake Trails has more expected damage per building than 60% of California towns.
In dollars, FEMA expects about $3.4M a year in losses across Auburn Lake Trails: $2.4M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.
Does Auburn Lake Trails flood? No paid flood claims on record
FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Auburn Lake Trails. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.
Auburn Lake Trails isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.
Insurance rates: El Dorado County.The storms Auburn Lake Trails remembers
None of the 18 disasters declared for El Dorado County shows FEMA aid or repair money reaching Auburn Lake Trails itself in FEMA’s records, so these are its biggest flood-claim years.
El Dorado County has had 18 natural disasters declared by the President since 1953, most often severe storms, then floods. Not counted: the 2005 Hurricane Katrina evacuee emergency, which covered counties that took in evacuees.
Also 5 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in El Dorado County, 2004–2022.
Get ready for what Auburn Lake Trails faces
A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.
- Clear dead leaves and brush within 5 feet of the house.
- Sign up for local alerts and know two ways out.
- Keep N95 masks for smoky days.
- Turn around at flooded roads: a foot of moving water can carry off a car.
- Flood insurance usually takes 30 days to start, so buy it before the forecast.
- Keep papers and medicines up high, in a grab-and-go bag.
- Look up the address on FEMA’s flood map.
- Ask the seller or landlord whether it has ever flooded, and what flood insurance costs there.
- Get a flood insurance quote early: policies usually start 30 days after you buy.
Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.
Questions about natural hazards in Auburn Lake Trails
Is Auburn Lake Trails at risk for natural disasters?
On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Auburn Lake Trails has higher expected damage per building than 94% of U.S. towns: D for hazard risk, #508 of 847 in California. Most of the expected damage is wildfire (77%) and river and rain flooding (20%). The figures are for the one census tract the town shares with its neighbors. This is FEMA’s model of an average year for today’s buildings, not a forecast.
Is Auburn Lake Trails in a flood zone?
Flood zones are drawn street by street, so the answer depends on the address: look it up on FEMA’s flood map. In El Dorado County, 24% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 0.3% of all homes do.
How much is flood insurance in Auburn Lake Trails?
FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Auburn Lake Trails’ flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.
Is Auburn Lake Trails at risk from wildfire?
It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (77%), and Auburn Lake Trails’ rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.
Storm stories
Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Auburn Lake Trails.
Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Auburn Lake Trails’ residents lived in the 2020 census; OpenFEMA: NFIP redacted claims, multiple-loss properties, community status book and residential penetration rates, housing assistance (owners and renters), public assistance funded projects, hazard mitigation properties and disaster declarations. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. Preparedness tips: Ready.gov. FEMA’s model is an average of expected damage, not a forecast. How hazard risk is graded.