Goose Creek, SC
Goose Creek wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Goose Creek lands at the 83rd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 14,996 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Goose Creek's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 81st percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
78.8% of Goose Creek's 14,996 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 21.2% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone. At 14,996 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Goose Creek against the rest of the country
Goose Creek's risk sits at a similar level relative to South Carolina (91st percentile statewide) as it does nationally (83rd) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Goose Creek ranks 5,241 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 988 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Carolina alone, it ranks 43 of 474 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Carolina on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 83rd percentile nationally, Goose Creek carries the very 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 Goose Creek
Goose Creek's 78.8% 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.
More on how this number was built
Goose Creek's 83rd-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Goose Creek, see the exposure-zones guide.