Estill, SC
Estill wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Estill lands at the 65th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 1,187 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Estill at the 64th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Estill's building exposure, zone by zone
Indirect exposure is dominant in Estill (71% of 1,187 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 29% sit in the Direct zone.
How Estill compares
Inside South Carolina, Estill sits at just the 35th percentile even though it scores 65th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Estill ranks 11,105 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,726 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Carolina alone, it ranks 313 of 474 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Carolina on its state page.
Estill and the insurance market
At the 65th percentile nationally, Estill 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.
Hardening a home in Estill
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Estill (71% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Estill's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Estill's 11,105-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Estill's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.