Cearfoss, MD
How exposed is Cearfoss to wildfire?
Cearfoss sits at the 23rd percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 125 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Cearfoss's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 25th percentile nationally.
Where Cearfoss's buildings actually sit
125 buildings are counted in Cearfoss, and 73.6% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 26.4% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
How Cearfoss compares
There's little gap between Cearfoss's 23rd national percentile and its 33rd percentile inside Maryland, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Cearfoss ranks 24,197 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,945 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 354 of 527 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maryland on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Cearfoss
Cearfoss's moderate wildfire rating (23rd 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Cearfoss's 73.6% 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
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 125 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Cearfoss. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Cearfoss, see the exposure-zones guide.