Elizabethtown, NC
How exposed is Elizabethtown to wildfire?
Elizabethtown sits at the 79th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 2,158 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Elizabethtown at the 79th national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
2,158 buildings are counted in Elizabethtown, and 58.6% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0.1% rated Minimal.
Elizabethtown against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Elizabethtown's 79th national percentile and its 82nd 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, Elizabethtown ranks 6,750 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,047 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 141 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Elizabethtown and the insurance market
At the 79th percentile nationally, Elizabethtown carries the 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
Because Direct exposure dominates in Elizabethtown (58.6%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,158 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Elizabethtown. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Elizabethtown, see the exposure-zones guide.