Lexington, VA
How exposed is Lexington to wildfire?
Lexington sits at the 63rd 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 2,489 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Lexington's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 66th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS puts 85% of Lexington's 2,489 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 15% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
How Lexington compares
Lexington scores 63rd nationally and 72nd 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, Lexington ranks 11,646 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,321 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 192 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Lexington's high rating (63rd 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.
Hardening a home in Lexington
Because 85% of Lexington's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Lexington's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,489 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Lexington. The exposure-zones guide covers what Lexington's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.