Independence, KY
How exposed is Independence to wildfire?
USFS scores Independence at the 19th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 9,803 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Independence's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 20th percentile nationally.
Independence's building exposure, zone by zone
9,803 buildings are counted in Independence, and 68% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 6.1% rated Minimal. At 9,803 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Where Independence ranks
Independence's risk sits at a similar level relative to Kentucky (30th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (19th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Independence ranks 25,619 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 1,660 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kentucky alone, it ranks 386 of 552 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kentucky on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Independence
Independence's low wildfire rating (19th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Hardening a home in Independence
Independence's 68% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 9,803 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Independence. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Independence, see the exposure-zones guide.