Derwood, MD
Derwood wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Derwood at the 14th national percentile for risk to structures, among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a score built from 586 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Derwood at the 13th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
586 buildings are counted in Derwood, and 60.1% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 39.9% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
How Derwood compares
Derwood's risk sits at a similar level relative to Maryland (12th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (14th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Derwood ranks 27,072 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,022 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 467 of 527 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maryland on its state page.
Derwood and the insurance market
Derwood's low wildfire rating (14th 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
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Derwood (60.1% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Derwood's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 586 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Derwood. The exposure-zones guide covers what Derwood's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.