Columbus, KY
How exposed is Columbus to wildfire?
USFS scores Columbus at the 29th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 130 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Columbus's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 30th percentile nationally.
Where Columbus's buildings actually sit
130 buildings are counted in Columbus, and 80.8% 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.
Where Columbus ranks
Within Kentucky, Columbus ranks higher (56th percentile) than it does nationally (29th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Columbus ranks 22,277 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,715 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kentucky alone, it ranks 243 of 552 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kentucky on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 29th national percentile, Columbus rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Columbus
Columbus's 80.8% 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 Columbus's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Columbus's 22,277-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Columbus's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.