Newell, WV
Newell wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Newell at the 37th national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 822 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Newell's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 36th percentile nationally.
Where Newell's buildings actually sit
88.2% of Newell's 822 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 11.8% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Where Newell ranks
Inside West Virginia, Newell sits at just the 8th percentile even though it scores 37th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Newell ranks 19,964 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 13,434 by building count (1 is largest). Within West Virginia alone, it ranks 394 of 429 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for West Virginia on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Newell's moderate wildfire rating (37th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Newell's 88.2% 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
Every one of the two percentiles behind Newell's 19,964-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Newell, see the exposure-zones guide.