Lowesville, NC
Lowesville, NC's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Lowesville at the 54th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 1,580 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Lowesville at the 58th 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 Lowesville's 1,580 counted buildings, 79.5% 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.
Lowesville against the rest of the country
Lowesville scores 54th nationally and 50th within North Carolina — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Lowesville ranks 14,409 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,835 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 389 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Lowesville's elevated rating (54th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
With 79.5% of Lowesville 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 Lowesville's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,580 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Lowesville. The exposure-zones guide covers what Lowesville's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.