South Boston, VA
How exposed is South Boston to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts South Boston at the 37th national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 4,140 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks South Boston at the 38th national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
South Boston's building exposure, zone by zone
Of South Boston's 4,140 counted buildings, 50.6% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Where South Boston ranks
South Boston's risk sits at a similar level relative to Virginia (28th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (37th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, South Boston ranks 19,840 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 4,109 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 494 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
South Boston and the insurance market
At the 37th national percentile, South Boston rates moderate 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
With 50.6% of South Boston in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
South Boston's 37th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond South Boston, see the exposure-zones guide.