Bowling Green, MD
Bowling Green, MD's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Bowling Green at the 44th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 505 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Bowling Green's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 43rd percentile nationally.
Bowling Green's building exposure, zone by zone
Most of Bowling Green's buildings (72.5%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Bowling Green against the rest of the country
Bowling Green's 63rd-percentile standing inside Maryland outpaces its 44th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Bowling Green ranks 17,735 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,256 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 196 of 527 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maryland on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 44th national percentile, Bowling Green rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Bowling Green (72.5% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Bowling Green's figures come from
Bowling Green'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 Bowling Green's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.