Richwood, WV
How exposed is Richwood to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Richwood at the 49th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 1,246 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Richwood at the 49th national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Richwood's buildings actually sit
Most of Richwood's buildings (76.2%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Richwood against the rest of the country
Richwood scores 49th nationally and 36th within West Virginia — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Richwood ranks 16,186 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,372 by building count (1 is largest). Within West Virginia alone, it ranks 275 of 429 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for West Virginia on its state page.
Richwood and the insurance market
At the 49th national percentile, Richwood rates elevated 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 Richwood
Richwood's 76.2% 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 Richwood's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Richwood's 16,186-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Richwood's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.