Lakewood, SC
Lakewood, SC's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Lakewood at the 79th national percentile for risk to structures, well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a score built from 1,497 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Lakewood's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 80th percentile nationally.
Where Lakewood's buildings actually sit
88.6% of Lakewood's 1,497 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 1,327 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 11.4% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where Lakewood ranks
Lakewood scores 79th nationally and 82nd within South 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, Lakewood ranks 6,565 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 9,183 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Carolina alone, it ranks 88 of 474 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Carolina on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Lakewood
Lakewood's 79th-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.
Hardening a home in Lakewood
With 88.6% of Lakewood 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 Lakewood's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,497 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Lakewood. The exposure-zones guide covers what Lakewood's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.