Fairlee, MD
Fairlee, MD's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Fairlee at the 27th national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 258 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Fairlee at the 26th national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Fairlee's buildings actually sit
Of Fairlee's 258 counted buildings, 72.5% carry Direct exposure and only 26% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
How Fairlee compares
Fairlee's risk sits at a similar level relative to Maryland (41st percentile statewide) as it does nationally (27th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Fairlee ranks 22,934 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,885 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 312 of 527 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maryland on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 27th national percentile, Fairlee rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Fairlee's 72.5% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Fairlee's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Fairlee's 22,934-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Fairlee's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.