Church Creek, MD
Church Creek wildfire risk explained
Church Creek sits at the 83rd percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 100 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Church Creek's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 83rd percentile nationally.
Where Church Creek's buildings actually sit
100 buildings are counted in Church Creek, and 60% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 3% rated Minimal.
How Church Creek compares
There's little gap between Church Creek's 83rd national percentile and its 96th percentile inside Maryland, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Church Creek ranks 5,389 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 29,034 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 21 of 527 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maryland on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Church Creek
Church Creek's 83rd-percentile, very 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
Because Direct exposure dominates in Church Creek (60%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Church Creek's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 100 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Church Creek. The exposure-zones guide covers what Church Creek's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.