Ripley, WV
Ripley wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Ripley at the 45th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 1,786 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Ripley at the 47th national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Ripley's building exposure, zone by zone
73.5% of Ripley's 1,786 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 26.5% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Ripley against the rest of the country
Ripley ranks lower within West Virginia (29th percentile statewide) than its 45th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Ripley ranks 17,321 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,109 by building count (1 is largest). Within West Virginia alone, it ranks 303 of 429 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for West Virginia on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Ripley
Ripley's elevated wildfire rating (45th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because 73.5% of Ripley's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Ripley's figures come from
Ripley's 45th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Ripley's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.