Montvale, VA
Montvale, VA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Montvale at the 72nd national percentile for risk to structures, well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a score built from 512 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Montvale's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 71st percentile nationally.
Montvale's building exposure, zone by zone
Of Montvale's 512 counted buildings, 58.6% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Montvale against the rest of the country
Montvale's risk sits at a similar level relative to Virginia (85th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (72nd) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Montvale ranks 8,997 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,157 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 106 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Montvale
At the 72nd percentile nationally, Montvale 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 Direct exposure dominates in Montvale (58.6%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Montvale's 72nd-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Montvale, see the exposure-zones guide.