Gargatha, VA
Gargatha, VA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Gargatha lands at the 60th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 317 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Gargatha at the 54th national percentile — 6 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Gargatha's building exposure, zone by zone
71% of Gargatha's 317 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 225 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 28.7% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0.3% are Minimal.
Gargatha against the rest of the country
Gargatha's risk sits at a similar level relative to Virginia (67th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (60th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Gargatha ranks 12,497 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 21,195 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 224 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Gargatha's high rating (60th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
What would actually reduce this score
With 71% of Gargatha in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Gargatha's 12,497-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Gargatha, see the exposure-zones guide.