Nikep, MD
Nikep wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Nikep at the 58th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 48 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Nikep at the 55th national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Nikep's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 100% of Nikep's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 0% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 48 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
How Nikep compares
Within Maryland, Nikep ranks higher (82nd percentile) than it does nationally (58th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Nikep ranks 13,269 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,976 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 96 of 527 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maryland on its state page.
Nikep and the insurance market
Nikep's elevated rating (58th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Nikep
With 100% of Nikep 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 48 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Nikep. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Nikep, see the exposure-zones guide.