Sonora, KY
Sonora wildfire risk explained
Sonora's 399 buildings earn a 17th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Sonora at the 19th national percentile — 2 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
399 buildings are counted in Sonora, and 79% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 3% rated Minimal.
Sonora against the rest of the country
Sonora's risk sits at a similar level relative to Kentucky (28th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (17th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Sonora ranks 26,028 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,228 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kentucky alone, it ranks 395 of 552 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kentucky on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 17th national percentile, Sonora rates low 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
Sonora's 79% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 399 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Sonora. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Sonora, see the exposure-zones guide.