Speed, NC
How exposed is Speed to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Speed lands at the 50th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 92 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Speed at the 50th national percentile — 0 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Speed's building exposure, zone by zone
85.9% of Speed's 92 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 79 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 14.1% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
How Speed compares
There's little gap between Speed's 50th national percentile and its 39th percentile inside North Carolina, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Speed ranks 15,676 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 29,419 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 477 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 50th national percentile, Speed rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Speed
With 85.9% of Speed 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
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 92 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Speed. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Speed, see the exposure-zones guide.