Ponder, TX
Ponder wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Ponder at the 83rd national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 1,023 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Ponder at the 83rd national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Ponder's buildings actually sit
57.4% of Ponder's 1,023 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 42.2% Direct and 0.4% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Ponder against the rest of the country
Ponder's risk sits at a similar level relative to Texas (69th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (83rd) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Ponder ranks 5,373 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,782 by building count (1 is largest). Within Texas alone, it ranks 558 of 1,795 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Texas on its state page.
Ponder and the insurance market
At the 83rd percentile nationally, Ponder carries the very 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
Ponder's 57.4% 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 Ponder's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,023 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Ponder. The exposure-zones guide covers what Ponder's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.