McCarthy, AK
How exposed is McCarthy to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts McCarthy at the 84th national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 265 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts McCarthy at the 80th percentile, close to its 84th-percentile risk score.
McCarthy's building exposure, zone by zone
89.8% of McCarthy's 265 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 238 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 10.2% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
McCarthy against the rest of the country
McCarthy's 84th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 67th ranking inside Alaska does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 17 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, McCarthy ranks 5,029 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,657 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alaska alone, it ranks 107 of 322 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alaska on its state page.
McCarthy and the insurance market
At the 84th percentile nationally, McCarthy carries the very 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.
Hardening a home in McCarthy
Because Direct exposure dominates in McCarthy (89.8%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where McCarthy's figures come from
McCarthy's 84th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what McCarthy's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.