Lafayette, VA
Lafayette, VA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Lafayette at the 69th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 290 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Lafayette's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 69th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
70% of Lafayette's 290 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 30% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Where Lafayette ranks
There's little gap between Lafayette's 69th national percentile and its 82nd percentile inside Virginia, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Lafayette ranks 9,659 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 21,930 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 124 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
Lafayette and the insurance market
Lafayette's high rating (69th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Lafayette (70% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Lafayette's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Lafayette's 9,659-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Lafayette's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.