Lowes Island, VA
Lowes Island wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Lowes Island at the 17th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 2,426 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Lowes Island at the 16th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Lowes Island's building exposure, zone by zone
Indirect exposure is dominant in Lowes Island (78.7% of 2,426 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 21.3% sit in the Direct zone.
Where Lowes Island ranks
Lowes Island's risk sits at a similar level relative to Virginia (8th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (17th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Lowes Island ranks 26,111 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,449 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 629 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Lowes Island
At the 17th national percentile, Lowes Island rates low 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 ember exposure the dominant pattern in Lowes Island (78.7% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
Lowes Island's 17th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Lowes Island, see the exposure-zones guide.