Piedmont, WV
How exposed is Piedmont to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Piedmont lands at the 54th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 322 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Piedmont's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 53rd percentile nationally.
Piedmont's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS puts 84.2% of Piedmont's 322 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 15.8% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
How Piedmont compares
Piedmont's risk sits at a similar level relative to West Virginia (42nd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (54th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Piedmont ranks 14,484 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 21,050 by building count (1 is largest). Within West Virginia alone, it ranks 251 of 429 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for West Virginia on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Piedmont
Piedmont's elevated rating (54th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Piedmont (84.2% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 322 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Piedmont. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Piedmont, see the exposure-zones guide.