Independence, LA
How exposed is Independence to wildfire?
Independence sits at the 75th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,017 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (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 77th percentile nationally.
Independence's building exposure, zone by zone
Direct exposure dominates in Independence: 54.1% of its 1,017 buildings, versus 45.9% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
How Independence compares
There's little gap between Independence's 75th national percentile and its 89th percentile inside Louisiana, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Independence ranks 7,789 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,822 by building count (1 is largest). Within Louisiana alone, it ranks 55 of 488 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Louisiana on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Independence's 75th-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
With 54.1% of Independence 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 Independence's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,017 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Independence. The exposure-zones guide covers what Independence's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.