Bethany, IN
How exposed is Bethany to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Bethany at the 16th national percentile for risk to structures, among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a score built from 43 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Bethany at the 18th national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Bethany's building exposure, zone by zone
Of Bethany's 43 counted buildings, 100% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Bethany against the rest of the country
Within Indiana, Bethany ranks higher (71st percentile) than it does nationally (16th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Bethany ranks 26,373 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 31,097 by building count (1 is largest). Within Indiana alone, it ranks 284 of 967 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Indiana on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Bethany's low rating (16th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Bethany's 100% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Bethany's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 43 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Bethany. The exposure-zones guide covers what Bethany's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.