New Castle, KY
New Castle wildfire risk explained
New Castle sits at the 24th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 425 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts New Castle at the 26th percentile, close to its 24th-percentile risk score.
Where New Castle's buildings actually sit
57.9% of New Castle's 425 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 246 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 42.1% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
New Castle against the rest of the country
Within Kentucky, New Castle ranks higher (44th percentile) than it does nationally (24th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, New Castle ranks 24,075 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,747 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kentucky alone, it ranks 312 of 552 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kentucky on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in New Castle
New Castle's moderate rating (24th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in New Castle (57.9%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where New Castle's figures come from
New Castle's 24th-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 New Castle's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.