Elliston, VA
How exposed is Elliston to wildfire?
Elliston's 566 buildings earn a 71st-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.)
Separately from the risk score above, Elliston's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 71st percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Elliston's buildings (63.1%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
How Elliston compares
Elliston's risk sits at a similar level relative to Virginia (84th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (71st) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Elliston ranks 9,188 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,318 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 109 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
Elliston and the insurance market
Elliston's high rating (71st percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Hardening a home in Elliston
Elliston's 63.1% 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 Elliston's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 566 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Elliston. The exposure-zones guide covers what Elliston's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.