Pearl, MS
Pearl wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Pearl lands at the 53rd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 11,523 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Pearl's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 55th percentile nationally.
Where Pearl's buildings actually sit
11,523 buildings are counted in Pearl, and 67.9% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 28.7% in Direct exposure or the 3.4% rated Minimal. At 11,523 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
How Pearl compares
Inside Mississippi, Pearl sits at just the 22nd percentile even though it scores 53rd 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, Pearl ranks 14,752 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 1,364 by building count (1 is largest). Within Mississippi alone, it ranks 330 of 420 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Mississippi on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Pearl
At the 53rd national percentile, Pearl rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Pearl's 67.9% 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 Pearl's figures come from
Pearl's 53rd-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 Pearl's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.