Phenix, VA
Phenix wildfire risk explained
Phenix's 178 buildings earn a 41st-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Phenix at the 43rd percentile, close to its 41st-percentile risk score.
Phenix's building exposure, zone by zone
87.1% of Phenix's 178 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 155 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 12.9% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where Phenix ranks
Phenix scores 41st nationally and 35th within Virginia — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Phenix ranks 18,549 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,732 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 440 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Phenix
Phenix's elevated wildfire rating (41st percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Phenix (87.1%), 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
Phenix's 41st-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 Phenix, see the exposure-zones guide.