FEMA Records
35
Very high volume
California · FEMA + NOAA + National Risk Index
Lake County, CA
35 FEMA disaster declarations (1965-2024), with a FEMA National Risk Index rating of Relatively Moderate. Most common hazard: Fire.
- 35
- FEMA declarations
- 20
- Major disasters
- 93
- NRI risk · Relatively Moderate
- Fire
- Top hazard
The verdict
Two federal records point in the busier direction for Lake County. Its 35 FEMA declarations are 23% above the California county mean and exceed the count for 93% of the 3,266 counties in this registry. Separately, FEMA's National Risk Index places it in the riskiest 7%, based on modeled expected annual loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
- Riskiest 7%
- of U.S. counties for FEMA National Risk Index score
- Relatively Moderate
- FEMA National Risk Index rating
- 35
- FEMA declarations vs 21 national county avg
- 1,432
- NFIP flood insurance claims filed
FEMA's National Risk Index and its declaration registry are separate measures. This county's registry includes Fire Management Assistance (FM) records, which are not presidential disaster declarations, alongside Major Disaster (DR) and Emergency (EM) records.
How does Lake County compare?
Lake County vs. all counties in this dataset
FEMA disaster declarations, all-time
35 Top 7% higher than 93% of 3,266 counties
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source FEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 · 2026-08-03
Lake County's FEMA Risk Index score
FEMA National Risk Index composite score vs. the California county average
Which hazard drives modeled loss here?
FEMA's modeled annual dollar loss for Lake County is led by Riverine Flooding (about $51.5M Expected Annual Loss, Historical Loss Ratio Relatively Moderate), while Wildfire carries the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High). EAL and risk score use different inputs; they need not agree.
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025 release) - Expected Annual Loss vs composite risk rating by hazard.
What does Lake County's hazard record show?
Reading the federal records together
FEMA's NFIP table contains a substantial paid-claim history for this county: 1,432 claims and $14.2M in payments. PlainHazard labels 500 or more claims a heavy registry record; that is a reporting bucket, not an official FEMA risk grade. The average paid claim was $9.9K. NFIP totals exclude uninsured flood losses and do not measure how many properties currently carry a policy.
The declaration register points in the busier direction. Lake County's 35 federal records stand 23% above the California county mean of 28.5. That comparison describes how often federal action was recorded, including any Major Disaster, Emergency, and Fire Management entries shown on this page; it does not convert the count into future probability.
FEMA National Risk Index
This county sits among the highest-risk counties nationally on FEMA's National Risk Index, a composite score of 93.0/100 (Relatively Moderate). Expected Annual Loss is rated Relatively Moderate (roughly $101.0M in annualized losses). Social vulnerability reads Relatively High and community resilience Relatively Low, both critical modifiers of realized harm here. Of the 18 hazards FEMA models, Wildfire stands out as the sharpest exposure here, rated Relatively High. FEMA's modeled frequency puts that hazard at roughly once every 59 years here.
Declaration frequency
The FEMA register is busy by both local and national comparisons. It contains 35 entries for Lake County, including 20 Major Disaster records, 23% above the California county mean. Across the 59-year span, that works out to 0.6 declarations a year. Fire leads the file with 15 entries. Declaration type records the federal action taken, not every assistance program approved.
72 /100
Historical Activity Index
High historical activity
Lake County, CA · PlainHazard-derived composite from federal records
This 0–100 index is an explicit PlainHazard composite from FEMA declaration history only on the county surface (this DB has no county-level NOAA damage row) . It is not FEMA's National Risk Index, not a forecast, and not a safety, insurance, or preparedness rating. Open the calculator · Methodology
FEMA Declarations (1953–present) Very High
25/30
35 OpenFEMA declarations, full ingest window (1.7x national county average)
County Disaster Density High
15/25
35 declarations (1.2x state county average of 29)
Major Disaster Share High
14/25
20 of 35 declarations are major disasters (57%)
Hazard Diversity Very High
18/20
7 different disaster types declared in Lake County
Historical Declaration Activity
Activity Band
High
vs. California Avg
+23%
State avg: 28.5
vs. National Avg
+69%
National avg: 20.7
Avg Per Year
0.6
Over 59 years
FEMA NRI 8-hazard radar - Lake County
How to read this radar
Each axis: NRI risk rating (Very Low-Very High) on a 0-100 scale. Rounder = broad exposure; spiky = one or two hazards dominate.
Major Disaster share
57%
Major-heavy
NRI risk score
93
Relatively Moderate
Source: FEMA National Risk Index FEMA National Risk Index Per-county per-hazard ratings, December 2025 release
How often does each hazard strike Lake County?
FEMA's National Risk Index models a historical event count and an annualized frequency for each hazard type. Most hazards are expressed as modeled occurrences per year; FEMA expresses drought and heat-wave frequency as event-days per year. These modeled frequencies are not forecasts.
| Hazard | NRI Risk Rating | Recurrence |
|---|---|---|
| Wildfire | Relatively High | roughly once every 59 years |
| Landslide | Relatively High | an average of 94 times per year |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 12 years |
| Volcanic Activity | Relatively Moderate | roughly once every 10,000 years |
| Drought | Relatively High | 60 modeled event-days per year |
| Riverine Flooding | Relatively High | roughly once every 2 years |
| Avalanche | Relatively High | roughly once every 8 years |
| Heat Wave | Relatively Low | 6.7 modeled event-days per year |
| Winter Weather | Relatively Low | an average of 8.8 times per year |
| Lightning | Very Low | an average of 5.4 times per year |
| Tornado | Very Low | roughly once every 10 years |
| Hail | Very Low | roughly once every 23 years |
| Strong Wind | Very Low | roughly once every 109 years |
Source: FEMA National Risk Index FEMA National Risk Index Modeled annualized frequency; drought and heat wave use event-days/year, December 2025 release
Disaster Types
Fire 15
Severe Storm 9
Flood 6
Biological 2
Hurricane 1
Coastal Storm 1
Drought 1
What Fire declarations mean here
Fire is the most frequent declaration type on Lake County's record, 43% of its declarations. Wildfire is the one hazard here with its own dedicated federal instrument: the Fire Management Assistance Grant, which appears in this data as an FM record. An FMAG can be authorised while a fire is still burning, on a timescale of hours, because its purpose is to reimburse the cost of fighting a fire that threatens to become a major disaster.
That distinction matters when comparing counties. An FM declaration is not a presidential major disaster declaration and does not carry the same assistance programmes, so a fire-heavy county's total is not directly comparable with a hurricane-heavy county's total unless the declaration types are separated, which is why they are listed separately on this page.
Declaration counts describe past federal action. They are a record of what was declared, not a forecast of future hazard probability.
Declaration Types
What DR / EM / FM mean
FEMA categorizes declarations as Major Disasters (DR), Emergencies (EM), or Fire Management Assistance (FM).
Major Disaster - 20 57.1%
of all 35 declarations
Fire Management - 10 28.6%
of all 35 declarations
Emergency - 5 14.3%
of all 35 declarations
FEMA Declarations Timeline
| Year | Declarations | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 3 | |
| 2021 | 1 | |
| 2020 | 4 | |
| 2019 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 5 | |
| 2017 | 2 | |
| 2016 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 3 | |
| 2012 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 1 | |
| 1998 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 1 | |
Show 6 earlier declaration years
| 1995 | 2 | |
| 1986 | 1 | |
| 1983 | 1 | |
| 1977 | 1 | |
| 1970 | 1 | |
| 1965 | 1 | |
Disaster Declarations
How the 35 FEMA declarations break into federal action codes (DR / EM / FM). Same DISTINCT grain as the table below.
Download these 35 declarations as CSV . FEMA source data is public domain; our derived presentation is CC0.
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5536 | BOYLES FIRE | FM | Fire | 2024-09-08 |
| 4699 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2023-04-03 |
| 3592 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | EM | Flood | 2023-03-10 |
| 3591 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | EM | Flood | 2023-01-09 |
| 4619 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2021-09-12 |
| 4558 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2020-08-22 |
| 5331 | LNU LIGHTNING FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2020-08-18 |
| 4482 | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR | Biological | 2020-03-22 |
| 3428 | COVID-19 | EM | Biological | 2020-03-13 |
| 4434 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2019-05-17 |
| 4382 | WILDFIRES AND HIGH WINDS | DR | Fire | 2018-08-04 |
| 5262 | MENDOCINO FIRE COMPLEX | FM | Fire | 2018-07-28 |
| 5244 | PAWNEE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2018-06-24 |
| 4344 | WILDFIRES | DR | Fire | 2017-10-10 |
| 5221 | SULPHUR FIRE | FM | Fire | 2017-10-09 |
| 4308 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Flood | 2017-04-01 |
| 4301 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2017-02-14 |
| 5145 | CLAYTON FIRE | FM | Fire | 2016-08-14 |
| 4240 | VALLEY FIRE AND BUTTE FIRE | DR | Fire | 2015-09-22 |
| 5112 | VALLEY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2015-09-13 |
Show 15 earlier declaration records
| DR# | Title | Type | Incident | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5093 | ROCKY FIRE | FM | Fire | 2015-08-02 |
| 5004 | WYE FIRE | FM | Fire | 2012-08-13 |
| 1646 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, AND MUDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-06-05 |
| 1628 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, MUDSLIDES, AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 2006-02-03 |
| 3248 | HURRICANE KATRINA EVACUATION | EM | Hurricane | 2005-09-13 |
| 2554 | CA-GEYSERS FIRE-09-04-2004 | FM | Fire | 2004-09-04 |
| 1203 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND FLOODING | DR | Severe Storm | 1998-02-09 |
| 1155 | SEVERE STORMS, FLOODING, MUD AND LANDSLIDES | DR | Severe Storm | 1997-01-04 |
| 1046 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING LANDSLIDES, MUD FLOW | DR | Severe Storm | 1995-03-12 |
| 1044 | SEVERE WINTER STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES, MUD FLOWS | DR | Severe Storm | 1995-01-10 |
| 758 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1986-02-21 |
| 677 | COASTAL STORMS, FLOODS, SLIDES & TORNADOES | DR | Coastal Storm | 1983-02-09 |
| 3023 | DROUGHT | EM | Drought | 1977-01-20 |
| 283 | SEVERE STORMS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1970-02-16 |
| 183 | HEAVY RAINS & FLOODING | DR | Flood | 1964-12-24 |
Storm Events in California
Statewide NOAA context only. PlainHazard does not currently attribute these state totals to Lake County.
| Storm Type | Events | Fatalities | Injuries | Property Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Wind | 4,070 | 13 | 27 | $228.2M |
| Flood | 3,132 | 26 | 25 | $985.1M |
| Heavy Snow | 1,814 | 6 | 0 | $1.6M |
| Dense Fog | 1,605 | 52 | 148 | $2.8M |
| Drought | 1,421 | 0 | 0 | $0 |
Source: NOAA Storm Events Database NOAA Storm Events Database State-level aggregated data, 2015-2025
NFIP Flood Insurance Claims
Total Claims
1,432
Total Paid
$14.2M
Avg Per Claim
$9.9K
Source: FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA Claims Data
FEMA National Risk Index
Overall Risk
Relatively Moderate
Score: 93.0/100
Expected Annual Loss
Relatively Moderate
$101.0M/year
Social Vulnerability
Relatively High
Community Resilience
Relatively Low
Hazard Risk Breakdown
Wildfire Relatively High
Landslide Relatively High
Earthquake Relatively Moderate
Volcanic Activity Relatively Moderate
Drought Relatively High
Riverine Flooding Relatively High
Avalanche Relatively High
Heat Wave Relatively Low
Winter Weather Relatively Low
Lightning Very Low
Tornado Very Low
Hail Very Low
Strong Wind Very Low
Cold Wave No Rating
Source: FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) Ratings reflect relative scores among all US counties. Data: hazards.fema.gov/nri
The model's sharpest exposure here: Wildfire
Wildfire risk in the model reflects fuel, terrain, weather and how much development sits in the wildland-urban interface. It is one of the few hazards where the exposure is materially changed by land management and building choices, not only by where the county happens to be.
For Lake County the two measures on this page point the same way: Wildfire is the county's highest-rated modeled hazard (Relatively High), and Fire declarations also lead its federal record. Where the model and the declaration history agree, the reading is comparatively straightforward, the hazard is both expected and repeatedly realised.
National Risk Index ratings are modeled estimates of expected annual loss, not predictions of what will happen in any given year.
Data-matched county comparisons
Lake County's closest FEMA peer: Lafayette County, FL
Comparisons use published FEMA declaration fields plus the National Risk Index composite for Lake County. Record similarity, not a safety rating.
Closest declaration profiles
Lake County shows 35 FEMA declarations, led by Fire.
Similar Major-disaster share
Lake County: 20 of 35 of its declarations are Major.
Similar modeled NRI score
Lake County: NRI composite 93.0 (Relatively Moderate).
How these peers are chosen
Cohort: Published U.S. county equivalents outside the source state or territory. Each metric keeps six ETL candidates; three unique destinations are shown after de-duplicating across axes. Declaration-volume ranking combines count and Major-disaster share and prefers a different leading incident type; Major-share ranks the Major fraction adjusted for volume; NRI ranks the modeled composite score only.
Retained FEMA snapshot feed for Lake County - capture-dated entries only.
Further reading for this county
Understanding disaster data
Lake County's NFIP claims file (1,432 claims) and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records - this guide separates them from modeled NRI risk.
More PlainHazard guides
- Most disaster-prone counties - U.S. counties ranked by FEMA declaration totals.
- Understanding disaster data - declarations vs storm events vs NRI scores.
- Preparing for natural disasters - household checklist (not county-specific advice).
Related
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most common disaster type in Lake County?
The most common disaster type in Lake County is Fire, with 15 declarations. Other disaster types include Severe Storm (9), Flood (6), Biological (2).
How does Lake County's FEMA declaration record compare with the California average?
FEMA lists 35 declaration records for Lake County. That is 23% above the California county mean of 28.5. Its count is also 69% above the national county mean of 20.7. A larger declaration history records more federal actions; it is not a forecast of the county's next hazard.
How many major FEMA disaster declarations has Lake County received?
Lake County has received 20 major disaster declarations, representing 57% of all 35 disaster declarations.
How many flood insurance claims has Lake County filed?
Lake County has 1,432 National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) claims totaling $14.2M in payments, with an average of $9.9K per claim.
Does FEMA's top risk-rated hazard match the highest Expected Annual Loss in Lake County?
No. In Lake County, Wildfire has the highest National Risk Index rating (Relatively High), while Riverine Flooding leads Expected Annual Loss at about $51.5M. FEMA's risk score and dollar-loss model use different inputs, so the leaders often differ.
What was the worst year for disasters in Lake County?
The most active year for disaster declarations in Lake County was 2018, with 5 declarations. The county has FEMA disaster data spanning 1965 to 2024.
What is the FEMA National Risk Index score for Lake County?
According to the FEMA National Risk Index, Lake County, California has an overall risk score of 93.0 out of 100 (Relatively Moderate). On social vulnerability the county rates Relatively High; on community resilience, Relatively Low. The Expected Annual Loss (EAL) score is Relatively Moderate, representing $101.0M in annualized losses.
Which natural hazard poses the greatest risk to Lake County?
The top hazard flagged by FEMA's NRI for Lake County as of the latest release is Wildfire (risk rating: Relatively High). Other significant hazards include Landslide (Relatively High) and Earthquake (Relatively Moderate). FEMA's modeled event frequency puts wildfire here at roughly once every 59 years. FEMA derives these ratings from historical event frequency, the assets exposed, and the community's vulnerability profile.
Data Sources & Methodology
Disaster declaration data comes from the FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 API, which includes all federally declared disasters, emergencies, and fire management assistance grants.
Storm event data is sourced from the NOAA Storm Events Database (2015-2025), which tracks significant weather events including thunderstorms, tornadoes, floods, and winter storms.
Flood insurance data comes from the FEMA National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) OpenFEMA claims dataset.
This data is provided for informational purposes only. FEMA disaster declarations represent federal response actions and may not capture all local emergencies or weather events.
What this means for Lake County
Lake County, CA has 35 federal declaration records, 23% more than the California county mean of 29; its history sits in PlainHazard's high activity band.
- Within this above-state-average declaration file, major disaster leads with 20 of 35 records; the category describes past federal action, not the next likely hazard. California overview
- The state benchmark and national rank point the same way: this count tops the California mean and the totals for 93% of 3,266 U.S. counties. Most-disaster rankings
- The large NFIP claims file and FEMA declaration history measure different federal records; the guide explains where they overlap and where they do not. Disaster-data guide
An above-average declaration count records past federal responses; it does not predict the next event. Current warnings come from the National Weather Service and local emergency officials.
PlainHazard derives this profile from FEMA's Disaster Declarations Summaries and National Risk Index data. The declaration comparison covers 3,266 U.S. counties and county equivalents in this database, refreshed as of 2026-08-03. Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
All federal data sources used on this page
- FEMA OpenFEMA, Disaster Declarations Summaries v2 - all federally-declared disasters for this county. fema.gov/openfema/disaster-declarations
- FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) - per-county per-hazard risk ratings and expected annual loss. hazards.fema.gov/nri
- NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database - state-level storm/severe-weather event records, 2015-2025. ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainHazard Editorial
Verify with FEMA → · Verify with FEMA NRI → · Verify with NOAA →
Every figure on PlainHazard is rendered directly from FEMA federal disaster data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or national statistics report, the data & editorial changelog, or report a data error.