WildfireRiskFinder

Edgewater, MD

Edgewater wildfire risk explained

Moderate
36thpercentile nationally

Edgewater sits at the 36th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 3,629 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)

USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Edgewater at the 36th percentile, close to its 36th-percentile risk score.

What "at risk" means for the buildings here

3,629Total buildings
19.6%Direct exposure
68.3%Indirect exposure
12%Minimal exposure

Indirect exposure is dominant in Edgewater (68.3% of 3,629 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 19.6% sit in the Direct zone.

Where Edgewater ranks

Edgewater's 54th-percentile standing inside Maryland outpaces its 36th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Edgewater ranks 20,293 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 4,622 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 243 of 527 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maryland on its state page.

Edgewater and the insurance market

Edgewater's moderate rating (36th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.

Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it

With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Edgewater (68.3% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.

More on how this number was built

The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 3,629 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Edgewater. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Edgewater, see the exposure-zones guide.