South Bethany, DE
How exposed is South Bethany to wildfire?
South Bethany's 1,260 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.)
Separately from the risk score above, South Bethany's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 38th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Only 1.3% of South Bethany's 1,260 buildings carry Direct exposure and 0% carry Indirect; the remaining 98.7% are Minimal, which shifts the risk driving this page's score toward the surrounding landscape rather than any one structure.
How South Bethany compares
Compare South Bethany's two percentiles: 65th within Delaware, only 43rd nationally — a gap of 22 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, South Bethany ranks 17,831 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,297 by building count (1 is largest). Within Delaware alone, it ranks 28 of 79 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Delaware on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 43rd national percentile, South Bethany 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
Even with 98.7% of South Bethany outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where South Bethany's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind South Bethany's 17,831-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what South Bethany's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.