Bellefonte, KY
Bellefonte, KY's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Bellefonte's 437 buildings earn a 49th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Bellefonte at the 52nd national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Bellefonte's buildings actually sit
USFS puts 55.8% of Bellefonte's 437 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 44.2% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Where Bellefonte ranks
Compare Bellefonte's two percentiles: 77th within Kentucky, only 49th nationally — a gap of 28 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Bellefonte ranks 16,229 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,515 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kentucky alone, it ranks 129 of 552 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kentucky on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Bellefonte
Bellefonte's elevated wildfire rating (49th 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.
What would actually reduce this score
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Bellefonte (55.8% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
Bellefonte's 49th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Bellefonte, see the exposure-zones guide.