Panhandle, TX
How exposed is Panhandle to wildfire?
Panhandle sits at the 69th 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 1,662 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Panhandle's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 66th percentile nationally.
Panhandle's building exposure, zone by zone
Only 20.1% of Panhandle's 1,662 buildings carry Direct exposure and 0% carry Indirect; the remaining 79.9% are Minimal, which shifts the risk driving this page's score toward the surrounding landscape rather than any one structure.
Panhandle against the rest of the country
Panhandle's 69th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 30th ranking inside Texas does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 40 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Panhandle ranks 9,656 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,558 by building count (1 is largest). Within Texas alone, it ranks 1,264 of 1,795 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Texas on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Panhandle
At the 69th percentile nationally, Panhandle 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Even with 79.9% of Panhandle outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Panhandle's 69th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Panhandle, see the exposure-zones guide.