Fairmont, WV
How exposed is Fairmont to wildfire?
Fairmont's 8,529 buildings earn a 35th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Fairmont at the 37th percentile, close to its 35th-percentile risk score.
Where Fairmont's buildings actually sit
88.6% of Fairmont's 8,529 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 11.4% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone. At 8,529 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Where Fairmont ranks
Fairmont ranks lower within West Virginia (4th percentile statewide) than its 35th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Fairmont ranks 20,504 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 1,946 by building count (1 is largest). Within West Virginia alone, it ranks 410 of 429 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for West Virginia on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Fairmont's moderate wildfire rating (35th 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Fairmont's 88.6% 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 8,529 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Fairmont. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Fairmont, see the exposure-zones guide.