Buford, SC
How exposed is Buford to wildfire?
Buford's 353 buildings earn a 59th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Buford at the 62nd percentile, close to its 59th-percentile risk score.
Where Buford's buildings actually sit
353 buildings are counted in Buford, and 94.9% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0% rated Minimal.
Where Buford ranks
Inside South Carolina, Buford sits at just the 15th percentile even though it scores 59th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Buford ranks 13,061 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,247 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Carolina alone, it ranks 401 of 474 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Carolina on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Buford's elevated rating (59th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
With 94.9% of Buford in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
Where Buford's figures come from
Buford's 59th-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 Buford's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.