Rachel, WV
How exposed is Rachel to wildfire?
Rachel sits at the 44th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 150 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Rachel at the 45th percentile, close to its 44th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 54% of Rachel's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 46% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 81 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
How Rachel compares
Inside West Virginia, Rachel sits at just the 27th percentile even though it scores 44th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Rachel ranks 17,570 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 26,896 by building count (1 is largest). Within West Virginia alone, it ranks 313 of 429 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for West Virginia on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 44th national percentile, Rachel rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
With 54% of Rachel in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
Where Rachel's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Rachel's 17,570-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Rachel's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.