Okeechobee, FL
Okeechobee wildfire risk explained
Okeechobee sits at the 80th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 2,753 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 Okeechobee at the 82nd percentile, close to its 80th-percentile risk score.
Where Okeechobee's buildings actually sit
Most of Okeechobee's buildings (62.6%) 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.
Okeechobee against the rest of the country
Okeechobee ranks lower within Florida (48th percentile statewide) than its 80th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Okeechobee ranks 6,362 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 5,847 by building count (1 is largest). Within Florida alone, it ranks 502 of 955 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Florida on its state page.
Okeechobee and the insurance market
Okeechobee's high rating (80th 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 Okeechobee
Okeechobee's 62.6% 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.
Where Okeechobee's figures come from
Okeechobee's 80th-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 Okeechobee's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.