Sumter, SC
Sumter wildfire risk explained
Sumter's 18,832 buildings earn a 75th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — well above the national norm for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Sumter at the 75th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Indirect exposure is dominant in Sumter (42.9% of 18,832 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 28.8% sit in the Direct zone. At 18,832 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Where Sumter ranks
Sumter's risk sits at a similar level relative to South Carolina (73rd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (75th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Sumter ranks 8,013 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 756 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Carolina alone, it ranks 130 of 474 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Carolina on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Sumter
At the 75th percentile nationally, Sumter carries the 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
Sumter's 42.9% 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 Sumter's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Sumter's 8,013-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Sumter's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.