Matoaka, WV
Matoaka wildfire risk explained
Matoaka's 147 buildings earn a 80th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Matoaka's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 83rd percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Indirect exposure is dominant in Matoaka (62.6% of 147 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 37.4% sit in the Direct zone.
Where Matoaka ranks
There's little gap between Matoaka's 80th national percentile and its 72nd percentile inside West Virginia, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Matoaka ranks 6,226 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,003 by building count (1 is largest). Within West Virginia alone, it ranks 122 of 429 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for West Virginia on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Matoaka's very high rating (80th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Hardening a home in Matoaka
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Matoaka (62.6% 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
Every one of the two percentiles behind Matoaka's 6,226-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Matoaka, see the exposure-zones guide.