Gerton, NC
Gerton wildfire risk explained
Gerton's 286 buildings earn a 70th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — well above the national norm for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Gerton at the 73rd percentile, close to its 70th-percentile risk score.
Where Gerton's buildings actually sit
Of Gerton's 286 counted buildings, 100% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Where Gerton ranks
There's little gap between Gerton's 70th national percentile and its 70th percentile inside North Carolina, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Gerton ranks 9,331 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,015 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 229 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Gerton and the insurance market
At the 70th percentile nationally, Gerton carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Hardening a home in Gerton
With 100% of Gerton 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
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 286 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Gerton. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Gerton, see the exposure-zones guide.