Cherokee Ridge, AL
How exposed is Cherokee Ridge to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Cherokee Ridge at the 65th national percentile for risk to structures, well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a score built from 162 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Cherokee Ridge's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 68th percentile nationally.
Where Cherokee Ridge's buildings actually sit
Of Cherokee Ridge's 162 counted buildings, 85.2% 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.
How Cherokee Ridge compares
Inside Alabama, Cherokee Ridge sits at just the 35th percentile even though it scores 65th 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 Ridge ranks 11,144 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 26,312 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alabama alone, it ranks 386 of 592 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alabama on its state page.
Cherokee Ridge and the insurance market
At the 65th percentile nationally, Cherokee Ridge 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 Direct exposure dominates in Cherokee Ridge (85.2%), 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
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 162 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Cherokee Ridge. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Cherokee Ridge, see the exposure-zones guide.