Coal City, WV
How exposed is Coal City to wildfire?
Coal City sits at the 75th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,195 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Coal City at the 77th percentile, close to its 75th-percentile risk score.
Where Coal City's buildings actually sit
1,195 buildings are counted in Coal City, and 94.8% 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 Coal City compares
Coal City's risk sits at a similar level relative to West Virginia (68th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (75th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Coal City ranks 7,832 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,682 by building count (1 is largest). Within West Virginia alone, it ranks 137 of 429 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for West Virginia on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Coal City
At the 75th percentile nationally, Coal City 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 Coal City (94.8%), 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
Coal City's 75th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Coal City, see the exposure-zones guide.