East Ellijay, GA
How exposed is East Ellijay to wildfire?
East Ellijay's 445 buildings earn a 73rd-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — well above the national norm for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks East Ellijay at the 75th national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where East Ellijay's buildings actually sit
445 buildings are counted in East Ellijay, and 51% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 49% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
How East Ellijay compares
East Ellijay scores 73rd nationally and 75th within Georgia — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, East Ellijay ranks 8,601 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,363 by building count (1 is largest). Within Georgia alone, it ranks 165 of 669 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Georgia on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in East Ellijay
East Ellijay's 73rd-percentile, 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
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in East Ellijay (51% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where East Ellijay's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 445 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for East Ellijay. The exposure-zones guide covers what East Ellijay's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.