Sparta, TN
How exposed is Sparta to wildfire?
USFS scores Sparta at the 55th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 2,541 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Sparta at the 59th national percentile — 4 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Sparta's buildings actually sit
Most of Sparta's buildings (58.2%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
How Sparta compares
Sparta scores 55th nationally and 49th within Tennessee — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Sparta ranks 14,227 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,224 by building count (1 is largest). Within Tennessee alone, it ranks 258 of 502 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Tennessee on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Sparta's elevated rating (55th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
Sparta's 58.2% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Sparta's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,541 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Sparta. The exposure-zones guide covers what Sparta's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.