Gibson, TN
How exposed is Gibson to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Gibson at the 34th national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 249 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Gibson at the 34th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Gibson's building exposure, zone by zone
81.9% of Gibson's 249 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 204 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 18.1% are Minimal.
How Gibson compares
Gibson's risk sits at a similar level relative to Tennessee (24th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (34th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Gibson ranks 20,910 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 23,185 by building count (1 is largest). Within Tennessee alone, it ranks 383 of 502 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Tennessee on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Gibson's moderate wildfire rating (34th 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Gibson (81.9%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Gibson's 34th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Gibson, see the exposure-zones guide.