Natural hazards · Lake Arrowhead

Lake Arrowhead, CA natural hazards

Most of the natural-hazard damage FEMA expects in Lake Arrowhead comes from wildfires, and overall the risk is very high for a U.S. community. Flood insurance has paid 2 claims here since 2023. 5 federal disasters brought FEMA money into town.

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 · OpenFEMA claims, aid & declarations

Expected damage

How exposed is Lake Arrowhead?

Very high

vs. U.S. communities

FEMA expects yearly storm and flood damage to homes and buildings in Lake Arrowhead to be higher than in 98% of U.S. communities, mostly from wildfires and earthquakes.

Wildfire59%Earthquakes21%Inland flooding18%Everything else2%

By hazard

What Lake Arrowhead faces

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

Wildfire

59% of expected damage

Well above average · among the top 1% of U.S. places

Earthquakes

21% of expected damage

Well above average · higher than 91% of U.S. places

Inland flooding

18% of expected damage

Above average · higher than 62% of U.S. places

Recorded about 13 times a year in the area

Lower here

TornadoesHailWinter weatherCold wavesHeat wavesLandslidesStrong windLightningAvalanches

Not a risk here

Coastal floodingHurricanesIce stormsDroughtTsunamisVolcanic activity

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

Flood insurance claims

Does Lake Arrowhead flood?

Every paid claim on a federal flood insurance policy in Lake Arrowhead, from FEMA’s records.

2paid claims since 2023

$15Kpaid to owners

0homes flooded more than once

20232026

Biggest named events

California Atmospheric River: 1 claim, $8K

of homes in flood zones
are insured

of all homes
are insured

No community discount. Lake Arrowhead isn’t in FEMA’s Community Rating System, which cuts flood insurance up to 45% in towns that do extra flood-proofing.

Insurance rates: San Bernardino County.

Disasters that hit Lake Arrowhead

5 federal disasters brought FEMA money here

Disasters the President declared that paid out in Lake Arrowhead itself: aid to households, or repair grants to Lake Arrowhead.

Brought FEMA money into Lake ArrowheadDeclared for San Bernardino County only

2023

Severe Winter Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides

436 households applied for aid $628K aid approved

2020

Wildfires

2 households applied for aid

2007

Wildfires, Flooding, Mud Flows, and Debris Flows

643 households applied for aid $154K aid approved

2004

Severe Storms, Flooding, Debris Flows, and Mudslides

43 households applied for aid $26K aid approved

2003

Wildfires, Flooding, Mudflow and Debris Flow Directly Related T

1,017 households applied for aid $173K aid approved

San Bernardino County has had 56 natural disasters declared since 1953, most often fires and floods.

About these numbers

How to read this page

An average, not a forecastFEMA’s National Risk Index estimates the damage 18 kinds of natural hazards cause in a typical year, from decades of records and models. A quiet decade can follow a bad year.

Compared by rate“Higher than N%” compares yearly damage as a share of what’s here, so a big city isn’t rated riskier just for having more buildings. Lake Arrowhead covers 5 census tracts, combined by population.

Money that reached townFlood claims are matched to Lake Arrowhead’s own flood-insurance community (here, the census tracts inside it); household aid to the registrant’s city; repair grants to Lake Arrowhead. FEMA’s model follows property values, so a place that recently lost many homes can rate lower than it feels.

FEMA’s expected losses across Lake Arrowhead total about $19.1M a year, counting buildings, people and crops.

Sources: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); 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. Census tracts: U.S. Census Bureau.