Bald Head Island, NC
How exposed is Bald Head Island to wildfire?
Bald Head Island's 1,363 buildings earn a 91st-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Bald Head Island's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 85th percentile nationally.
Bald Head Island's building exposure, zone by zone
1,363 buildings are counted in Bald Head Island, and 75.4% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0.2% rated Minimal.
Bald Head Island against the rest of the country
Bald Head Island's risk sits at a similar level relative to North Carolina (98th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (91st) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Bald Head Island ranks 2,711 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 9,773 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 13 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 91st percentile nationally, Bald Head Island carries the very high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Bald Head Island (75.4%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Bald Head Island's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Bald Head Island's 2,711-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Bald Head Island's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.