Cerro Gordo, NC
Cerro Gordo, NC's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Cerro Gordo's 240 buildings earn a 74th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — well above the national norm for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Cerro Gordo's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 74th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Of Cerro Gordo's 240 counted buildings, 67.5% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Cerro Gordo against the rest of the country
Cerro Gordo's risk sits at a similar level relative to North Carolina (75th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (74th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Cerro Gordo ranks 8,227 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 23,471 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 192 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Cerro Gordo and the insurance market
At the 74th percentile nationally, Cerro Gordo carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Cerro Gordo's 67.5% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 240 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Cerro Gordo. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Cerro Gordo, see the exposure-zones guide.