Blog · October 14, 2026 · California
Butte County Flood Zone Map (California)
FEMA's free flood maps and the Butte County parcel viewer, used together for property near Oroville.
Main page: Butte County, CA GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, Butte County facts and neighboring maps).
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Before you buy a house in Paradise, add on to a barn near Chico, or price a lot along the creek bottoms near Berry Creek, check the Butte County flood zone map. FEMA's free Flood Map Service Center and the Butte County parcel viewer answer it together.
Next: FEMA's search tool, the zone labels you'll see for Butte County, and how the parcel record confirms which tract you're on.
Look up the Butte County flood zone map step by step
FEMA's official flood maps for Butte County are free at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. If a tract near Paradise has no street number yet, search the nearest road and pan to it. For an interactive view of the county, try FEMA's National Flood Hazard Layer viewer, so you can see whether the shading reaches a house near Paradise. Then open the Butte County parcel viewer for Butte County to confirm the parcel near Gridley. If the Butte County viewer has a floodplain layer, treat it as a convenience copy and confirm on FEMA's map.
Opening the Butte County parcel viewer
Butte County publishes its parcels on the Butte County parcel viewer, free to use for a lot in Chico or a tract near Paradise. Click any Butte County parcel near Chico to open its record: owner, parcel ID and assessed acreage are typically listed. If the official address for the Butte County, CA map ever changes, our directory page carries the current link for Chico and the rest of the county.
High, moderate and minimal risk in Butte County
On the FIRM covering Butte County, zones that start with A or V are Special Flood Hazard Areas, land with a 1-percent chance of flooding in any given year (the base or 100-year flood). A surveyor working near Gridley uses the base flood elevation printed for AE zones; unnumbered A zones don't have one. Shaded Zone X around Gridley falls between the base flood and the 500-year flood. Unshaded Zone X near Paradise is minimal risk.
Low ground and small streams around Gridley
A creek near Paradise that shows no detailed zone, so treat an unmapped channel as a reason to ask questions, not proof the ground stays dry.
A short buyer checklist for Oroville
For a house near Biggs, ask the seller for any elevation certificate on file and the current flood insurance declarations page. Quotes for land near Berry Creek depend on the zone and the building's elevation, so bring both to the agent.
Floodways and restudies near Chico
When FEMA restudies streams in the county, preliminary maps are posted before they take effect, and a lot near Berry Creek can move in or out of a zone. Floodways, shown as hatched areas on some panels, are the channel and nearby land that must stay open, and building there near Paradise faces the strictest rules.
What a flood zone means for a Butte County buyer
Lenders watch the zone closely on Butte County properties. When a Butte County home sits in a Special Flood Hazard Area and is financed by a regulated or federally insured lender, flood insurance is mandatory under the Flood Disaster Protection Act, wherever the community joins the NFIP. In Zone X near Gridley, federal rules don't require a policy, although some lenders require it anyway. When a Butte County homesite is on a rise inside a mapped zone, the landowner can ask FEMA for a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA), supported by elevation data from a licensed surveyor. Placing fill on low ground near Gridley has to meet local floodplain rules, so call the county or the town office in Gridley before work starts.
Quick answers for Butte County
Is my Chico address in a flood zone?
Look it up at FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, then match the parcel lines in the county parcel viewer; for land near Paradise, a zone starting with A or V is high risk.
Do I need a permit to build in the floodplain near Chico?
Building in a Special Flood Hazard Area near Chico typically needs a floodplain permit and may require elevating the structure, so check with the county floodplain administrator.
Does a 100-year floodplain near Paradise flood only once a century?
No; land near Paradise in the 100-year floodplain carries a 1-in-100 chance in any single year, so floods can come in back-to-back years.
Who prepares an elevation certificate for a house in Chico?
Hire a licensed surveyor or engineer who works in Butte County; ask the local floodplain office first in case one exists.
Is there a floodplain layer in the Butte County parcel viewer?
Check the layer list in the Butte County parcel viewer; if Butte County includes a floodplain layer, confirm the zone on FEMA's map anyway.
What does BFE mean on the flood map for Chico?
For a county property in Zone AE, the BFE is the height floodwater is expected to reach in the 1-percent-annual-chance flood, and a surveyor compares the building near Chico to it.
Open the official Butte County, CA parcel map Butte County in the Platbookmapper directory
Not a survey. County GIS and tax parcel maps are assessment and planning layers. They are not a substitute for a recorded plat, deed, or licensed survey, especially for fences, setbacks, or boundary disputes.