Fruitland, MD
Fruitland wildfire risk explained
Fruitland sits at the 74th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 2,415 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Fruitland's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 73rd percentile nationally.
Fruitland's building exposure, zone by zone
59.5% of Fruitland's 2,415 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 38.9% Direct and 1.5% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Fruitland against the rest of the country
Compare Fruitland's two percentiles: 95th within Maryland, only 74th nationally — a gap of 21 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Fruitland ranks 8,251 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,477 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 30 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
Fruitland's 74th-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Fruitland's 59.5% 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.
Where Fruitland's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Fruitland's 8,251-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Fruitland's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.