Monterey, VA
How exposed is Monterey to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Monterey lands at the 64th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 217 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Monterey at the 64th percentile, close to its 64th-percentile risk score.
Where Monterey's buildings actually sit
53% of Monterey's 217 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 115 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 47% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Monterey against the rest of the country
Monterey's risk sits at a similar level relative to Virginia (74th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (64th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Monterey ranks 11,423 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,256 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 181 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
Monterey and the insurance market
Monterey's high rating (64th 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 53% of Monterey 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 Monterey's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Monterey's 11,423-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Monterey's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.