Licking, MO
Licking wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Licking at the 74th national percentile for risk to structures, well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a score built from 982 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Licking at the 76th percentile, close to its 74th-percentile risk score.
Where Licking's buildings actually sit
982 buildings are counted in Licking, and 62.7% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 37.3% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
How Licking compares
Compare Licking's two percentiles: 89th within Missouri, only 74th nationally — a gap of 16 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Licking ranks 8,290 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,059 by building count (1 is largest). Within Missouri alone, it ranks 117 of 1,062 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Missouri on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Licking's 74th-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 Licking
Licking's 62.7% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Licking's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 982 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Licking. The exposure-zones guide covers what Licking's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.