Hernando, MS
Hernando wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Hernando lands at the 70th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 7,207 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Hernando's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 73rd percentile nationally.
Hernando's building exposure, zone by zone
7,207 buildings are counted in Hernando, and 55.7% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 6.3% rated Minimal. At 7,207 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
How Hernando compares
Hernando's risk sits at a similar level relative to Mississippi (57th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (70th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Hernando ranks 9,521 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 2,379 by building count (1 is largest). Within Mississippi alone, it ranks 183 of 420 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Mississippi on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Hernando's 70th-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
What would actually reduce this score
With 55.7% of Hernando 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.
Where Hernando's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 7,207 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Hernando. The exposure-zones guide covers what Hernando's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.