Cherokee Falls, SC
Cherokee Falls wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Cherokee Falls lands at the 62nd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 81 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Cherokee Falls at the 65th national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Cherokee Falls's buildings actually sit
50.6% of Cherokee Falls's 81 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 49.4% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
How Cherokee Falls compares
Inside South Carolina, Cherokee Falls sits at just the 26th percentile even though it scores 62nd nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Cherokee Falls ranks 11,888 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 29,863 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Carolina alone, it ranks 350 of 474 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Carolina on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Cherokee Falls
At the 62nd percentile nationally, Cherokee Falls 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
Because 50.6% of Cherokee Falls's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 81 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Cherokee Falls. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Cherokee Falls, see the exposure-zones guide.