Horse Shoe, NC
Horse Shoe, NC's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Horse Shoe lands at the 58th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 1,277 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Horse Shoe at the 62nd national percentile — 4 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Horse Shoe's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 97.8% of Horse Shoe's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 2.2% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 1,249 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Horse Shoe against the rest of the country
Horse Shoe scores 58th nationally and 56th within North 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, Horse Shoe ranks 13,186 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,212 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 337 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Horse Shoe
Horse Shoe's elevated rating (58th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Horse Shoe (97.8%), 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
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,277 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Horse Shoe. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Horse Shoe, see the exposure-zones guide.