Cordova, AK
Cordova wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Cordova lands at the 15th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 1,251 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Cordova's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 15th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Cordova's buildings (57.3%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
How Cordova compares
Cordova scores 15th nationally and 19th within Alaska — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Cordova ranks 26,809 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,343 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alaska alone, it ranks 261 of 322 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alaska on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Cordova
Cordova's low wildfire rating (15th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
What would actually reduce this score
Because 57.3% of Cordova's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Cordova's figures come from
Cordova's 15th-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 Cordova's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.