Dwale, KY
Dwale, KY's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Dwale at the 92nd national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 207 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Dwale's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 94th percentile nationally.
Dwale's building exposure, zone by zone
207 buildings are counted in Dwale, and 66.7% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 33.3% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
Where Dwale ranks
Dwale scores 92nd nationally and 94th within Kentucky — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Dwale ranks 2,613 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,597 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kentucky alone, it ranks 33 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
Dwale's 92nd-percentile, very high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Hardening a home in Dwale
Dwale's 66.7% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Dwale's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Dwale's 2,613-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Dwale's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.