East Arcadia, NC
East Arcadia wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, East Arcadia lands at the 81st percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 316 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, East Arcadia's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 81st percentile nationally.
Where East Arcadia's buildings actually sit
Of East Arcadia's 316 counted buildings, 97.8% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
East Arcadia against the rest of the country
There's little gap between East Arcadia's 81st national percentile and its 86th percentile inside North Carolina, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, East Arcadia ranks 6,115 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 21,215 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 105 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
East Arcadia's 81st-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.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in East Arcadia (97.8%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where East Arcadia's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 316 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for East Arcadia. The exposure-zones guide covers what East Arcadia's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.