South Mountain, TX
South Mountain wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts South Mountain at the 93rd national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 335 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks South Mountain at the 92nd national percentile — 1 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
USFS classifies 96.1% of South Mountain's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 3.9% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 322 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
South Mountain against the rest of the country
South Mountain's risk sits at a similar level relative to Texas (91st percentile statewide) as it does nationally (93rd) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, South Mountain ranks 2,249 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,712 by building count (1 is largest). Within Texas alone, it ranks 164 of 1,795 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Texas on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 93rd percentile nationally, South Mountain carries the very high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
What would actually reduce this score
With 96.1% of South Mountain 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 Mountain's 93rd-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 Mountain, see the exposure-zones guide.