Chiefland, FL
How exposed is Chiefland to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Chiefland at the 79th national percentile for risk to structures, well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a score built from 1,304 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Chiefland at the 77th national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Chiefland's building exposure, zone by zone
1,304 buildings are counted in Chiefland, and 54.8% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 44.6% in Direct exposure or the 0.6% rated Minimal.
Where Chiefland ranks
Chiefland ranks lower within Florida (45th percentile statewide) than its 79th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Chiefland ranks 6,650 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,058 by building count (1 is largest). Within Florida alone, it ranks 523 of 955 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Florida on its state page.
Chiefland and the insurance market
Chiefland's 79th-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Chiefland's 54.8% 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.
Where Chiefland's figures come from
Chiefland's 79th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Chiefland's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.