South Shore, KY
How exposed is South Shore to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, South Shore lands at the 50th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 706 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks South Shore at the 52nd national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
South Shore's building exposure, zone by zone
706 buildings are counted in South Shore, and 88% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 12% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
How South Shore compares
South Shore's 77th-percentile standing inside Kentucky outpaces its 50th 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, South Shore ranks 15,783 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 14,595 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kentucky alone, it ranks 126 of 552 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kentucky on its state page.
South Shore and the insurance market
South Shore's elevated wildfire rating (50th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Hardening a home in South Shore
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in South Shore (88% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where South Shore's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 706 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for South Shore. The exposure-zones guide covers what South Shore's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.