Is the FAIR Plan becoming common in Redding and Shasta County?

California's FAIR Plan, which calls itself "an insurer of last resort," held 6,859 policies in the 24 ZIP codes it assigns to Shasta County on September 30, 2026. Shasta County's ZIP codes held 2,128 on September 30, 2022, so the count rose 222% in four years, against 150% statewide. The Plan files Cottonwood's 96022 under Tehama County, so Cottonwood is not in these figures.

In the FAIR Plan's file dated September 30, 2026, 75% of Shasta County's policies are in its own High wildfire tier, against 37% statewide. As of September 30, 2026, every one of Shasta County's 24 ZIP codes bears a flag the FAIR Plan carries, the file's distressed-area mark.

The shift is recent: the Department of Insurance found the FAIR Plan on only 3.7% of insured homes in Shasta County's ZIP codes in 2022.

Insurers outside the FAIR Plan still wrote 5,008 new home policies in Shasta County's ZIP codes in 2023 and renewed 45,892. Another 7,808 were non-renewed, a total that counts owners who chose to leave as well as insurers' decisions: 13.3%, against 8.7% statewide.

The Department of Insurance has an older yardstick, built from catastrophe modelers' scores and a January 1, 2015 count of homes. It put 34.5% of Shasta County's dwelling units in its high or very high wildfire risk group, against 12.1% statewide.

The move reached the city. The FAIR Plan's September 30, 2026 report shows 1,641 policies in Redding's 96003, 878 in 96001 and 283 in 96002.

On September 30, 2022, Redding's three ZIP codes held 483, 149 and 37. In Redding's 96002, only 17% of the Plan's policies sit in its High wildfire tier, against 75% across Shasta County.

Shingletown's 96088 is a different picture: of its 910 FAIR Plan policies on September 30, 2026, 98% fall in the High tier. In 2023, 476 Shingletown policies outside the FAIR Plan, or 27.0%, ended in non-renewal, a figure that also counts owners who sold or switched.

Insurers read each house with their own wildfire scores, so a ZIP code count shows the trend, not the answer for your house.

The Carr Fire started on July 23, 2018, at Highway 299 and Carr Powerhouse Road near Whiskeytown. CAL FIRE's incident page lists 1,614 structures destroyed and 279 damaged, as of its last update on October 24, 2022.

Two more destructive fires started in Shasta County, by CAL FIRE's incident pages. The Zogg Fire started north of Igo on September 27, 2020, and destroyed 204 structures. The Fawn Fire started five miles northeast of Shasta Lake on September 22, 2021, and destroyed 185.

The Park Fire started in Chico's Bidwell Park, in Butte County, on July 24, 2024. Its incident page, last updated July 29, 2025, gives 429,603 acres and 713 structures destroyed. CAL FIRE's list of the 20 largest California wildfires, dated October 2, 2024, places it in Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama counties.

During the Park Fire, Bulletin 2024-6, issued by the Department of Insurance, stopped non-renewals over wildfire risk in Anderson's 96007, Cottonwood's 96022, Old Station's 96071 and Shingletown's 96088. The pause ran for one year from July 26, 2024, and has ended.

The Dixie Fire's incident page also lists Shasta among the five counties it reached.

Shasta County's defensible space rule was last amended by Ordinance 2025-03 on September 23, 2025. Outside city limits, a parcel of two acres or less must have its whole area treated for hazardous vegetation. A larger parcel of up to ten acres needs a 30-foot defensible space perimeter, a fire warden's plan, or both.

A February 25, 2026 state filing describes a Shasta County Fire brush-clearing program for low-income, disabled, elderly and veteran owners in high and very high fire zones.

The State Fire Marshal maps the fire hazard zones. Its zones for State Responsibility Areas, where CAL FIRE leads, took effect April 1, 2024. Its maps for Local Responsibility Areas, where local agencies lead firefighting, went to cities and counties in four rounds starting February 10, 2025.

The state's fire hazard map shows the zone for your own address.

Only one Shasta County agency, the City of Shasta Lake, is on the Board of Forestry's Fire Risk Reduction Community List, in effect since July 1, 2026. The FAIR Plan's discount sheet, last revised in November 2025, lists a community discount for homes inside a listed community. The Plan adds that its discounts are subject to change.

Outside city limits, yes, for stays of 30 days or less. Shasta County set the rules in Ordinance 2020-05, adopted July 21, 2020. A Vacation Rental permit covers a whole home, and a Hosted Homestay permit covers rooms in a home the owner lives in.

Both permits renew every year. The county's renewal packet, revised May 8, 2026, asks for a fire inspection from the past year and "proof of current, valid liability insurance for the property."

Inside a city, ask that city. The City of Shasta Lake, for one, has its own permit, under a city ordinance in effect since October 1, 2020.

Before the first guest arrives, get your insurer's answer in writing on whether the policy covers paying guests. Our guide to homeowners insurance and short-term guests lists what to ask.

Start with the postmark. Under California law, the insurer must mail or deliver the notice at least 75 days (90 days beginning January 1, 2028) before the policy ends.

Use that time to search in order: standard insurers first, then specialty insurers, which take many homes the standard ones turn away. The FAIR Plan comes last, as the state's fallback.

A FAIR Plan policy in Shasta County carries the Plan's 29.1% average increase, varying by home, for new policies and renewals on or after October 15, 2026. Our guide to the FAIR Plan's 2026 increase at renewal shows how to check your own number.

A better offer need not wait for the renewal date. Once the new policy starts, cancel the FAIR Plan policy in writing.

Collect these papers before you ask for quotes.

• Your declarations page, with the rebuild amount and the deductible.
• Dated photos of your defensible space, front, back and sides.
• Permits or receipts for a newer roof, wiring or plumbing.
• Your county or city permit, if you rent the home to guests.