Diamondhead, MS
How exposed is Diamondhead to wildfire?
Diamondhead sits at the 95th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 4,499 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Diamondhead at the 96th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Diamondhead's building exposure, zone by zone
4,499 buildings are counted in Diamondhead, and 60.7% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 39.3% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
How Diamondhead compares
There's little gap between Diamondhead's 95th national percentile and its 98th percentile inside Mississippi, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Diamondhead ranks 1,444 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 3,798 by building count (1 is largest). Within Mississippi alone, it ranks 8 of 420 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Mississippi on its state page.
Diamondhead and the insurance market
At the 95th percentile nationally, Diamondhead carries the very 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.
What would actually reduce this score
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Diamondhead (60.7% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Diamondhead's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 4,499 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Diamondhead. The exposure-zones guide covers what Diamondhead's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.