Sharpsburg, MD
Sharpsburg, MD's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Sharpsburg's 390 buildings earn a 43rd-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Sharpsburg at the 45th percentile, close to its 43rd-percentile risk score.
Where Sharpsburg's buildings actually sit
77.7% of Sharpsburg's 390 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 22.3% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Sharpsburg against the rest of the country
Compare Sharpsburg's two percentiles: 61st within Maryland, only 43rd nationally — a gap of 18 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Sharpsburg ranks 18,025 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,408 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 205 of 527 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maryland on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 43rd national percentile, Sharpsburg rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Sharpsburg's 77.7% 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.
More on how this number was built
Sharpsburg's 43rd-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Sharpsburg, see the exposure-zones guide.