Bridgewater, VA
Bridgewater wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Bridgewater at the 35th national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 1,976 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Bridgewater's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 37th percentile nationally.
Where Bridgewater's buildings actually sit
Indirect exposure is dominant in Bridgewater (46% of 1,976 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 20.5% sit in the Direct zone.
Bridgewater against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Bridgewater's 35th national percentile and its 25th percentile inside Virginia, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Bridgewater ranks 20,502 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,547 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 513 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
Bridgewater and the insurance market
At the 35th national percentile, Bridgewater rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Bridgewater (46% 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
Every one of the two percentiles behind Bridgewater's 20,502-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Bridgewater, see the exposure-zones guide.