Loretto, TN
Loretto wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Loretto at the 53rd national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 1,258 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Loretto at the 57th national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Of Loretto's 1,258 counted buildings, 66.6% 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.
How Loretto compares
Loretto's risk sits at a similar level relative to Tennessee (47th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (53rd) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Loretto ranks 14,702 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,309 by building count (1 is largest). Within Tennessee alone, it ranks 268 of 502 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Tennessee on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Loretto
At the 53rd national percentile, Loretto rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 66.6% 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.
Where Loretto's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,258 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Loretto. The exposure-zones guide covers what Loretto's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.