Lake Secession, SC
How exposed is Lake Secession to wildfire?
Lake Secession sits at the 66th 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 1,073 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Lake Secession's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 69th percentile nationally.
Where Lake Secession's buildings actually sit
87.2% of Lake Secession's 1,073 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 936 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 1.7% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 11.1% are Minimal.
Where Lake Secession ranks
Lake Secession ranks lower within South Carolina (38th percentile statewide) than its 66th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Lake Secession ranks 10,821 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,448 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Carolina alone, it ranks 291 of 474 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Carolina on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Lake Secession's 66th-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
Lake Secession's 87.2% 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.
Where Lake Secession's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,073 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Lake Secession. The exposure-zones guide covers what Lake Secession's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.