Marks, MS
How exposed is Marks to wildfire?
USFS scores Marks at the 67th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 954 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Marks at the 67th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Marks's buildings (73.4%) 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.
Marks against the rest of the country
Marks ranks lower within Mississippi (49th percentile statewide) than its 67th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Marks ranks 10,303 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,276 by building count (1 is largest). Within Mississippi alone, it ranks 212 of 420 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Mississippi on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 67th percentile nationally, Marks carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because 73.4% of Marks's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Marks's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 954 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Marks. The exposure-zones guide covers what Marks's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.