Halfway, MD
Halfway wildfire risk explained
Halfway's 4,333 buildings earn a 17th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Halfway at the 18th national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Halfway's building exposure, zone by zone
86.8% of Halfway's 4,333 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 13.1% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
How Halfway compares
Halfway scores 17th nationally and 19th within Maryland — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Halfway ranks 26,062 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 3,959 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 424 of 527 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maryland on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Halfway
At the 17th national percentile, Halfway rates low for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 86.8% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Halfway gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Halfway's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 4,333 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Halfway. The exposure-zones guide covers what Halfway's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.