Cayce, KY
Cayce wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Cayce at the 16th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 114 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Cayce at the 15th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
64.9% of Cayce's 114 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 74 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 35.1% are Minimal.
Where Cayce ranks
Cayce scores 16th nationally and 26th within Kentucky — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Cayce ranks 26,504 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 28,454 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kentucky alone, it ranks 410 of 552 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kentucky on its state page.
Cayce and the insurance market
At the 16th national percentile, Cayce rates low 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 64.9% of Cayce 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 Cayce's figures come from
Cayce's 16th-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 Cayce's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.