Cooleemee, NC
Cooleemee, NC's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Cooleemee's 632 buildings earn a 53rd-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Cooleemee at the 57th national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Cooleemee's building exposure, zone by zone
632 buildings are counted in Cooleemee, and 63.5% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 36.6% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
Where Cooleemee ranks
Cooleemee scores 53rd nationally and 47th within North Carolina — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Cooleemee ranks 14,725 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,440 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 409 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Cooleemee and the insurance market
At the 53rd national percentile, Cooleemee rates elevated 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 Cooleemee
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Cooleemee (63.5% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Cooleemee's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Cooleemee's 14,725-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Cooleemee's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.