Sharpsburg, KY
How exposed is Sharpsburg to wildfire?
Sharpsburg sits at the 42nd percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 263 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Sharpsburg at the 44th national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Sharpsburg's buildings actually sit
Indirect exposure is dominant in Sharpsburg (50.6% of 263 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 49.4% sit in the Direct zone.
Where Sharpsburg ranks
Compare Sharpsburg's two percentiles: 70th within Kentucky, only 42nd nationally — a gap of 28 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Sharpsburg ranks 18,429 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,729 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kentucky alone, it ranks 167 of 552 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kentucky on its state page.
Sharpsburg and the insurance market
Sharpsburg's elevated wildfire rating (42nd 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
Sharpsburg's 50.6% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Sharpsburg's figures come from
Sharpsburg's 42nd-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 Sharpsburg's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.