Chewalla, TN
How exposed is Chewalla to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Chewalla lands at the 69th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 90 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Chewalla at the 72nd national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Chewalla's building exposure, zone by zone
90 buildings are counted in Chewalla, and 96.7% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0% rated Minimal.
How Chewalla compares
Chewalla scores 69th nationally and 63rd within Tennessee — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Chewalla ranks 9,873 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 29,514 by building count (1 is largest). Within Tennessee alone, it ranks 186 of 502 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Tennessee on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 69th percentile nationally, Chewalla 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.
Hardening a home in Chewalla
Chewalla's 96.7% 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.
Where Chewalla's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 90 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Chewalla. The exposure-zones guide covers what Chewalla's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.