Mount Sterling, KY
Mount Sterling wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Mount Sterling at the 46th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 3,158 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Mount Sterling at the 49th percentile, close to its 46th-percentile risk score.
Where Mount Sterling's buildings actually sit
3,158 buildings are counted in Mount Sterling, and 68.4% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 20.5% in Direct exposure or the 11.1% rated Minimal.
Where Mount Sterling ranks
Mount Sterling's 75th-percentile standing inside Kentucky outpaces its 46th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Mount Sterling ranks 17,047 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 5,218 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kentucky alone, it ranks 139 of 552 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kentucky on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Mount Sterling
At the 46th national percentile, Mount Sterling rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Mount Sterling
Mount Sterling's 68.4% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 3,158 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Mount Sterling. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Mount Sterling, see the exposure-zones guide.