Hilda, SC
Hilda wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Hilda at the 72nd national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 370 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Hilda's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 71st percentile nationally.
Where Hilda's buildings actually sit
370 buildings are counted in Hilda, and 92.2% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0% rated Minimal.
How Hilda compares
Hilda scores 72nd nationally and 66th within South Carolina — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Hilda ranks 8,738 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,870 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Carolina alone, it ranks 162 of 474 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Carolina on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Hilda
Hilda's 72nd-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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Hilda (92.2%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Hilda's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Hilda's 8,738-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Hilda's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.