Ferrum, VA
Ferrum wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Ferrum at the 45th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 844 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Ferrum's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 46th percentile nationally.
Ferrum's building exposure, zone by zone
844 buildings are counted in Ferrum, and 90.6% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0% rated Minimal.
Where Ferrum ranks
There's little gap between Ferrum's 45th national percentile and its 42nd percentile inside Virginia, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Ferrum ranks 17,506 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 13,217 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 395 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Ferrum
At the 45th national percentile, Ferrum rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Ferrum's 90.6% 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 Ferrum's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 844 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Ferrum. The exposure-zones guide covers what Ferrum's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.