Payne Gap, KY
Payne Gap, KY's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Payne Gap lands at the 94th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 255 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Payne Gap's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 96th percentile nationally.
Where Payne Gap's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 93.7% of Payne Gap's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 6.3% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 239 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Where Payne Gap ranks
Payne Gap scores 94th nationally and 99th within Kentucky — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Payne Gap ranks 1,890 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,979 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kentucky alone, it ranks 7 of 552 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kentucky on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Payne Gap
Payne Gap's 94th-percentile, very high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Payne Gap's 93.7% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Payne Gap's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 255 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Payne Gap. The exposure-zones guide covers what Payne Gap's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.