Buchtel, OH
Buchtel wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Buchtel at the 39th national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 345 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Buchtel's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 40th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
345 buildings are counted in Buchtel, and 64.9% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 35.1% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
Buchtel against the rest of the country
Buchtel's 84th-percentile standing inside Ohio outpaces its 39th 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, Buchtel ranks 19,294 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,456 by building count (1 is largest). Within Ohio alone, it ranks 197 of 1,264 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Ohio on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Buchtel
At the 39th national percentile, Buchtel rates moderate 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
Buchtel's 64.9% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Buchtel's 39th-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 Buchtel, see the exposure-zones guide.