Pikeville, NC
Pikeville wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Pikeville at the 36th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 477 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Pikeville's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 34th percentile nationally.
Where Pikeville's buildings actually sit
USFS puts 60% of Pikeville's 477 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 40% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
How Pikeville compares
Pikeville's 36th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 8th ranking inside North Carolina does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 28 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Pikeville ranks 20,179 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,766 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 707 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Pikeville and the insurance market
At the 36th national percentile, Pikeville rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Pikeville
Pikeville's 60% 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 Pikeville's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 477 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Pikeville. The exposure-zones guide covers what Pikeville's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.