Shannon, MS
How exposed is Shannon to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Shannon lands at the 48th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 969 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Shannon at the 50th national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Of Shannon's 969 counted buildings, 67.6% carry Direct exposure and only 15% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Shannon against the rest of the country
Shannon's 48th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 18th ranking inside Mississippi does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 30 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Shannon ranks 16,483 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,161 by building count (1 is largest). Within Mississippi alone, it ranks 346 of 420 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Mississippi on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Shannon's elevated wildfire rating (48th 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
With 67.6% of Shannon in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
Where Shannon's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Shannon's 16,483-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Shannon's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.