Laurel Hill, VA
Laurel Hill, VA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Laurel Hill sits at the 27th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,764 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Laurel Hill at the 27th percentile, close to its 27th-percentile risk score.
Laurel Hill's building exposure, zone by zone
68.1% of Laurel Hill's 1,764 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 22.2% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
How Laurel Hill compares
Laurel Hill scores 27th nationally and 17th within Virginia — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Laurel Hill ranks 23,144 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,182 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 567 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
Laurel Hill and the insurance market
Laurel Hill's moderate rating (27th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Even with 68.1% of Laurel Hill outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where Laurel Hill's figures come from
Laurel Hill's 27th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Laurel Hill's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.