Chauncey, WV
Chauncey, WV's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Chauncey's 148 buildings earn a 96th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Chauncey's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 97th percentile nationally.
Chauncey's building exposure, zone by zone
Most of Chauncey's buildings (53.4%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Chauncey against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Chauncey's 96th national percentile and its 98th percentile inside West Virginia, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Chauncey ranks 1,435 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 26,974 by building count (1 is largest). Within West Virginia alone, it ranks 11 of 429 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for West Virginia on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Chauncey
At the 96th percentile nationally, Chauncey 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Chauncey's 53.4% 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 148 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Chauncey. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Chauncey, see the exposure-zones guide.