Bensley, VA
Bensley wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Bensley lands at the 33rd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 2,145 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Bensley at the 33rd national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Bensley's buildings actually sit
64.6% of Bensley's 2,145 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 26.2% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
How Bensley compares
Bensley's risk sits at a similar level relative to Virginia (23rd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (33rd) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Bensley ranks 21,133 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,083 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 528 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
Bensley and the insurance market
Bensley's moderate wildfire rating (33rd 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Even with 64.6% of Bensley outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where Bensley's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,145 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Bensley. The exposure-zones guide covers what Bensley's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.