Pacolet, SC
Pacolet wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Pacolet at the 62nd national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 1,506 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Pacolet's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 65th percentile nationally.
Pacolet's building exposure, zone by zone
Direct exposure dominates in Pacolet: 59.9% of its 1,506 buildings, versus 40.1% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Where Pacolet ranks
Inside South Carolina, Pacolet sits at just the 25th percentile even though it scores 62nd 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, Pacolet ranks 12,010 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 9,142 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Carolina alone, it ranks 357 of 474 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Carolina on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Pacolet
At the 62nd percentile nationally, Pacolet carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Hardening a home in Pacolet
Because Direct exposure dominates in Pacolet (59.9%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Pacolet's 62nd-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Pacolet, see the exposure-zones guide.