Empire, LA
Empire wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Empire lands at the 48th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 875 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Empire at the 34th national percentile — 14 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Empire's buildings actually sit
54.6% of Empire's 875 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 45.3% Direct and 0.1% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
How Empire compares
Empire's risk sits at a similar level relative to Louisiana (52nd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (48th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Empire ranks 16,509 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,947 by building count (1 is largest). Within Louisiana alone, it ranks 234 of 488 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Louisiana on its state page.
Empire and the insurance market
Empire's elevated wildfire rating (48th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Hardening a home in Empire
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Empire (54.6% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Empire's figures come from
Empire's 48th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Empire's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.