Loretto, KY
Loretto wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Loretto at the 31st national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 710 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Loretto's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 33rd percentile nationally.
Where Loretto's buildings actually sit
Of Loretto's 710 counted buildings, 89.4% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Where Loretto ranks
Within Kentucky, Loretto ranks higher (58th percentile) than it does nationally (31st) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Loretto ranks 21,864 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 14,562 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kentucky alone, it ranks 232 of 552 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kentucky on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Loretto's moderate wildfire rating (31st percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
What would actually reduce this score
With 89.4% of Loretto 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 710 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Loretto. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Loretto, see the exposure-zones guide.