Northchase, NC
Northchase wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Northchase lands at the 72nd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 1,329 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Northchase at the 69th percentile, close to its 72nd-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Northchase's buildings (78.6%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Northchase against the rest of the country
Northchase scores 72nd nationally and 72nd within North Carolina — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Northchase ranks 8,957 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 9,939 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 215 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Northchase's high rating (72nd percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Hardening a home in Northchase
Northchase's 78.6% 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 1,329 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Northchase. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Northchase, see the exposure-zones guide.