Pickens, SC
Pickens, SC's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Pickens's 1,851 buildings earn a 69th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — well above the national norm for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Pickens at the 73rd national percentile — 4 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS puts 59.8% of Pickens's 1,851 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 40.3% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Where Pickens ranks
Pickens's risk sits at a similar level relative to South Carolina (55th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (69th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Pickens ranks 9,684 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,906 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Carolina alone, it ranks 213 of 474 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Carolina on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 69th percentile nationally, Pickens 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because 59.8% of Pickens's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Pickens's figures come from
Pickens's 69th-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 Pickens's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.