Bardwell, KY
Bardwell wildfire risk explained
Bardwell's 523 buildings earn a 27th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Bardwell at the 28th percentile, close to its 27th-percentile risk score.
Where Bardwell's buildings actually sit
Direct exposure dominates in Bardwell: 54.5% of its 523 buildings, versus 42.8% Indirect and 2.7% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Bardwell against the rest of the country
Compare Bardwell's two percentiles: 52nd within Kentucky, only 27th nationally — a gap of 24 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Bardwell ranks 22,912 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,982 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kentucky alone, it ranks 266 of 552 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kentucky on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Bardwell
At the 27th national percentile, Bardwell rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Bardwell (54.5%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Bardwell's 22,912-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Bardwell, see the exposure-zones guide.