Cats Bridge, VA
Cats Bridge, VA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Cats Bridge at the 51st national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 157 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Cats Bridge's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 48th percentile nationally.
Where Cats Bridge's buildings actually sit
Of Cats Bridge's 157 counted buildings, 66.9% carry Direct exposure and only 22.3% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Cats Bridge against the rest of the country
Cats Bridge scores 51st nationally and 54th within Virginia — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Cats Bridge ranks 15,585 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 26,590 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 314 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Cats Bridge's elevated wildfire rating (51st percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Cats Bridge (66.9%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 157 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Cats Bridge. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Cats Bridge, see the exposure-zones guide.