Ridgeway, SC
How exposed is Ridgeway to wildfire?
USFS scores Ridgeway at the 72nd national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 185 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Ridgeway's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 75th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
70.3% of Ridgeway's 185 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 130 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 29.7% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where Ridgeway ranks
Ridgeway scores 72nd nationally and 66th within South Carolina — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Ridgeway ranks 8,778 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,436 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Carolina alone, it ranks 165 of 474 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Carolina on its state page.
Ridgeway and the insurance market
At the 72nd percentile nationally, Ridgeway carries the 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Ridgeway's 70.3% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Ridgeway's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Ridgeway's 8,778-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Ridgeway's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.