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D−Hazard risk
Natural hazards in Forest Ranch · FEMA

On FEMA’s figures, few U.S. towns expect more hazard damage per building than Forest Ranch, mostly from wildfire

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Forest Ranch gets a D− for hazard risk: among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns. Most of that expected damage is wildfire (64%), then river and rain flooding (32%). FEMA’s files show no paid flood insurance claims here.

Wildfire 64%River and rain flooding 32%Earthquakes 4%

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

among the highestof U.S. townsLess damageMoreExpected yearly damage per dollar of building, vs. the 21,298 U.S. towns we grade
Hazard risk
D−
in California · among the highest of U.S. towns
Main hazard
Wildfire
64% of expected building damage
Flood claims
0
paid since 1978 · $0
Disasters paid out here
3
of 24 declared for Butte County
By hazard

What Forest Ranch faces

Each hazard’s share of the building damage FEMA expects here, and how its rate compares with the rest of the country.

Wildfire

64%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts

River and rain flooding

32%of expected building damage
Well above average · in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts
Recorded about once a year in the area
Smaller shares here
 Earthquakes Landslides top 1% Tornadoes Hail Strong wind Winter storms Heat waves Lightning Avalanches top 1% Volcanic activity top 3%
FEMA models no building damage here
Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsCold wavesTsunamis

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.

Flood risk changes street by street. Check a specific address on FEMA’s flood map, and ask about flood insurance before you buy.
Hazard risk grade

What’s behind Forest Ranch’s grade

Wildfire is 64% of the building damage FEMA expects in Forest Ranch, and Forest Ranch’s rate of wildfire damage is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts. River and rain flooding adds 32%, at a rate in the top 7% of U.S. census tracts.

Where Forest Ranch sits
Forest Ranch
Least damageMiddleMost damage

D− among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns (21,298).

All of Forest Ranch’s residents live in one census tract; the figures are that tract’s.

What drives the damage to buildings
Wildfire64%River and rain flooding32%Earthquakes4%Everything else1%

In dollars, FEMA expects about $2.1M a year in losses across Forest Ranch: $2.0M to buildings, the rest to people and crops.

Shared tract.All of Forest Ranch’s 1,304 residents (2020 census) live in one census tract, which it shares with Butte Meadows CDP (74 residents). FEMA publishes its model by tract, so the rate and the hazard mix are the tract’s, the same for all of them. The flood claims below are the town’s own.
A shared figure. The grade describes the whole tract, not each street in it, and FEMA’s model is an average year for today’s buildings, not a record: the claims below are the record.

How TownRatings grades hazard risk →

Flood insurance claims

Does Forest Ranch flood? No paid flood claims on record

FEMA’s records show no paid flood insurance claims in Forest Ranch. That’s not a promise: most homes don’t carry flood insurance, so small floods go unrecorded.

of homes in flood zones are insured
of all homes are insured
No community discount

Forest Ranch isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: Butte County.
Disasters

3 federal disasters brought FEMA money to Forest Ranch

Disasters that paid out in Forest Ranch itself (aid to households or repair grants to Forest Ranch), newest first, with that year’s flood claims.

  1. 2023Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides43 households applied for aid$107K aid approved
  2. 2020Wildfires6 households applied for aid$4K aid approved
  3. 2018Wildfires50 households applied for aid$9K aid approved
Disasters declared, by decade
Paid out in Forest RanchButte County only

Butte County has had 24 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 11 FEMA wildfire suppression grants (Fire Management Assistance, not a disaster declaration) for fires in Butte County, 2004–2024.

Were you here?

Old photos of Forest Ranch after a storm or flood belong in the town’s history. Add one, or share what you remember below.

Add to the Forest Ranch archive →
Be ready

Get ready for what Forest Ranch faces

A short kit for the hazards that drive the building damage here, what to check before you buy, and where neighbors get alerts.

Wildfire
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
When the river rises
  • 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.
More from Ready.gov ↗
Before you buy or rent
  • 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.
When a storm is coming
Forecast and alertsWeather →911, the nearest ERSafety →

Know where neighbors sign up for alerts? Add it to the Handbook so everyone has it.

Questions about natural hazards in Forest Ranch

Is Forest Ranch at risk for natural disasters?

On FEMA’s National Risk Index, Forest Ranch has among the highest expected damage per building of U.S. towns: D− for hazard risk. Most of the expected damage is wildfire (64%) and river and rain flooding (32%). 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 Forest Ranch 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 Butte County, 22% of homes in mapped flood zones carry federal flood insurance, and 1.9% of all homes do.

How much is flood insurance in Forest Ranch?

FEMA’s Community Rating System list shows no discount for Forest Ranch’s flood program. Premiums depend on the building; policies usually start 30 days after you buy, so get a quote early.

What was the biggest storm in Forest Ranch?

By FEMA money that reached Forest Ranch, Severe Winter Storms, Straight-line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides (2023): 43 households applied for aid, $107K approved.

Is Forest Ranch at risk from wildfire?

It is the largest share of the building damage FEMA expects here (64%), and Forest Ranch’s rate for it is in the top 1% of U.S. census tracts.

Storm stories

Memories, warnings and help from neighbors in Forest Ranch.

Town Square →
Start the conversation

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index v1.20 (December 2025), census-tract table, combined by where Forest Ranch’s 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.