Roan Mountain, TN
How exposed is Roan Mountain to wildfire?
USFS scores Roan Mountain at the 75th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 929 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Roan Mountain at the 77th percentile, close to its 75th-percentile risk score.
Roan Mountain's building exposure, zone by zone
76.1% of Roan Mountain's 929 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 707 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 23.9% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where Roan Mountain ranks
Roan Mountain scores 75th nationally and 76th within Tennessee — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Roan Mountain ranks 7,955 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,482 by building count (1 is largest). Within Tennessee alone, it ranks 121 of 502 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Tennessee on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Roan Mountain
Roan Mountain's high rating (75th 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Roan Mountain (76.1%), 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 929 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Roan Mountain. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Roan Mountain, see the exposure-zones guide.