Marion, VA
How exposed is Marion to wildfire?
Marion sits at the 69th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 2,864 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Marion's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 71st percentile nationally.
Marion's building exposure, zone by zone
Most of Marion's buildings (73.3%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Marion against the rest of the country
Marion's risk sits at a similar level relative to Virginia (81st percentile statewide) as it does nationally (69th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Marion ranks 9,879 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 5,642 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 131 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Marion's 69th-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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Marion's 73.3% 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 Marion's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,864 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Marion. The exposure-zones guide covers what Marion's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.