Pelahatchie, MS
How exposed is Pelahatchie to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Pelahatchie lands at the 70th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 845 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Pelahatchie at the 72nd percentile, close to its 70th-percentile risk score.
Where Pelahatchie's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 71% of Pelahatchie's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 28.4% Indirect share and far above its 0.6% Minimal share — a profile where 600 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
How Pelahatchie compares
There's little gap between Pelahatchie's 70th national percentile and its 55th percentile inside Mississippi, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Pelahatchie ranks 9,611 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 13,203 by building count (1 is largest). Within Mississippi alone, it ranks 189 of 420 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Mississippi on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Pelahatchie
Pelahatchie's high rating (70th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Hardening a home in Pelahatchie
Because Direct exposure dominates in Pelahatchie (71%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Pelahatchie's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 845 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Pelahatchie. The exposure-zones guide covers what Pelahatchie's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.