Cleveland, VA
How exposed is Cleveland to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Cleveland at the 86th national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 119 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Cleveland at the 89th percentile, close to its 86th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS puts 58% of Cleveland's 119 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 42% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Where Cleveland ranks
Cleveland's risk sits at a similar level relative to Virginia (96th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (86th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Cleveland ranks 4,427 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 28,223 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 29 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Cleveland's very high rating (86th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Cleveland (58% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Cleveland's figures come from
Cleveland's 86th-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 Cleveland's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.