Smithsburg, MD
Smithsburg, MD's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Smithsburg lands at the 51st percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 929 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Smithsburg at the 49th national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
929 buildings are counted in Smithsburg, and 64.6% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 24% in Direct exposure or the 11.4% rated Minimal.
Where Smithsburg ranks
Smithsburg's 71st-percentile standing inside Maryland outpaces its 51st national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Smithsburg ranks 15,505 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,476 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 155 of 527 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maryland on its state page.
Smithsburg and the insurance market
At the 51st national percentile, Smithsburg rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because 64.6% of Smithsburg's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Smithsburg's 51st-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 Smithsburg, see the exposure-zones guide.