Pacifica, CA— fire, flood & earthquake hazard information
Pacifica is a city in San Mateo County in the San Francisco Bay Area, covering about 12.6 square miles. This page summarizes what official government maps show for Pacifica: CAL FIRE fire hazard severity zones, FEMA flood zones, state seismic hazard zones, dam inundation areas, airport noise contours, and air-quality indicators. Figures are the share of Pacifica’s area that falls inside each mapped zone.
View Pacifica on the interactive map → to check any specific address, free.
Wildfire hazard severity zones
Per CAL FIRE's Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps, less than 1% of Pacifica is in a Very High fire hazard severity zone. The remainder of its area is outside currently designated zones.
| Very High severity zone | less than 1% |
FEMA flood zones
1% of Pacifica lies within a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area (1% annual chance, zones A/AE/AH/AO); 2% is in a coastal high hazard zone (V/VE); 1% is in the 0.2% annual chance (500-year) area. Federally backed mortgages in a Special Flood Hazard Area generally require flood insurance.
| Special Flood Hazard Area (100-yr) | 1% |
| Coastal high hazard (V/VE) | 2% |
| 0.2% annual chance (500-yr) | 1% |
Earthquake faults & seismic zones
The nearest mapped fault, the San Andreas fault zone, is about 1.6 mi (2.5 km) from the center of Pacifica. 2 named fault traces in the USGS Quaternary fault database cross its boundary. 20% of its area is in a state-designated liquefaction zone of required investigation. 49% is in an earthquake-induced landslide zone. 3% falls within an Alquist-Priolo earthquake fault zone, where new construction requires a fault study.
| Nearest mapped fault | San Andreas fault zone — 1.6 mi (2.5 km) |
| Named fault traces crossing boundary | 2 |
| Liquefaction zone | 20% |
| Earthquake-induced landslide zone | 49% |
| Alquist-Priolo fault zone | 3% |
Dam inundation, aircraft noise & air quality
less than 1% is inside an airport noise contour of 65 dB CNEL or louder; annual average fine-particle (PM2.5) concentration across its census tracts is 8.2 μg/m³, and its composite pollution burden ranks around the 8th percentile statewide.
| Airport noise ≥65 dB CNEL | less than 1% |
| Annual PM2.5 (tract average) | 8.2 μg/m³ |
| Pollution burden percentile (statewide) | ~8 |
Frequently asked questions
- Is Pacifica in a wildfire hazard severity zone?
- Per CAL FIRE's Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps, less than 1% of Pacifica is in a Very High fire hazard severity zone. The remainder of its area is outside currently designated zones.
- Is Pacifica in a FEMA flood zone?
- 1% of Pacifica lies within a FEMA Special Flood Hazard Area (1% annual chance, zones A/AE/AH/AO); 2% is in a coastal high hazard zone (V/VE); 1% is in the 0.2% annual chance (500-year) area. Federally backed mortgages in a Special Flood Hazard Area generally require flood insurance.
- What earthquake faults and seismic zones affect Pacifica?
- The nearest mapped fault, the San Andreas fault zone, is about 1.6 mi (2.5 km) from the center of Pacifica. 2 named fault traces in the USGS Quaternary fault database cross its boundary. 20% of its area is in a state-designated liquefaction zone of required investigation. 49% is in an earthquake-induced landslide zone. 3% falls within an Alquist-Priolo earthquake fault zone, where new construction requires a fault study.
- How do I check a specific address in Pacifica?
- Use the free sitelume interactive map at https://sitelume.com — search any Pacifica address to see which mapped zones it falls in, layer by layer.
Nearby in San Mateo County
Sources: CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zones; FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer; USGS Quaternary Faults; CGS Seismic Hazard Zones & Alquist-Priolo zones; Cal OES dam inundation maps; county ALUC noise contours; CalEnviroScreen 4.0. Area shares are computed against each place’s Census TIGER boundary (last computed 2026-07-24). Boundaries and zone designations change; always verify with the issuing agency.