Oldtown, MD
Oldtown, MD's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Oldtown sits at the 49th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 103 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 Oldtown at the 49th percentile, close to its 49th-percentile risk score.
Where Oldtown's buildings actually sit
91.3% of Oldtown's 103 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 94 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 8.7% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
How Oldtown compares
Compare Oldtown's two percentiles: 68th within Maryland, only 49th nationally — a gap of 20 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Oldtown ranks 16,233 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 28,898 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 169 of 527 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maryland on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Oldtown's elevated rating (49th 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
With 91.3% of Oldtown 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 103 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Oldtown. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Oldtown, see the exposure-zones guide.