Ripplemead, VA
How exposed is Ripplemead to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Ripplemead lands at the 66th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 182 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Ripplemead at the 67th percentile, close to its 66th-percentile risk score.
Where Ripplemead's buildings actually sit
61% of Ripplemead's 182 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 111 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 39% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
How Ripplemead compares
Ripplemead's risk sits at a similar level relative to Virginia (78th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (66th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Ripplemead ranks 10,699 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,573 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 152 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Ripplemead's high rating (66th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Ripplemead (61%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 182 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Ripplemead. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Ripplemead, see the exposure-zones guide.