Chance, MD
Chance, MD's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Chance at the 98th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 349 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Chance's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 96th percentile nationally.
Where Chance's buildings actually sit
Of Chance's 349 counted buildings, 71.6% carry Direct exposure and only 20.3% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Chance against the rest of the country
Chance's risk sits at a similar level relative to Maryland (99th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (98th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Chance ranks 787 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,335 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 5 of 527 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maryland on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 98th percentile nationally, Chance carries the very 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
Because Direct exposure dominates in Chance (71.6%), 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
Chance's 98th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Chance, see the exposure-zones guide.