Spring Gap, MD
Spring Gap wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Spring Gap lands at the 53rd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 59 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Spring Gap at the 53rd national percentile — 0 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
Of Spring Gap's 59 counted buildings, 100% 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.
How Spring Gap compares
Spring Gap's 73rd-percentile standing inside Maryland outpaces its 53rd 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, Spring Gap ranks 14,842 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,680 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 143 of 527 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maryland on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Spring Gap's elevated rating (53rd percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 100% of Spring Gap 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.
Where Spring Gap's figures come from
Spring Gap's 53rd-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Spring Gap's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.