Barker Heights, NC
Barker Heights, NC's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Barker Heights lands at the 44th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 613 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Barker Heights at the 47th national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Barker Heights's building exposure, zone by zone
Direct exposure dominates in Barker Heights: 63% of its 613 buildings, versus 13.4% Indirect and 23.7% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
How Barker Heights compares
Barker Heights's 44th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 22nd ranking inside North Carolina does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 21 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Barker Heights ranks 17,783 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,661 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 600 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Barker Heights
Barker Heights's elevated wildfire rating (44th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Hardening a home in Barker Heights
Because Direct exposure dominates in Barker Heights (63%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Barker Heights's figures come from
Barker Heights's 44th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Barker Heights's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.