Romney, WV
Romney wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Romney at the 51st national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 898 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Romney at the 51st percentile, close to its 51st-percentile risk score.
Where Romney's buildings actually sit
Indirect exposure is dominant in Romney (88.8% of 898 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 11.3% sit in the Direct zone.
Where Romney ranks
There's little gap between Romney's 51st national percentile and its 39th percentile inside West Virginia, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Romney ranks 15,366 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,742 by building count (1 is largest). Within West Virginia alone, it ranks 262 of 429 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for West Virginia on its state page.
Romney and the insurance market
Romney's elevated rating (51st percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Romney (88.8% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 898 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Romney. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Romney, see the exposure-zones guide.