Terra Alta, WV
Terra Alta, WV's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Terra Alta at the 49th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 857 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Terra Alta's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 49th percentile nationally.
Where Terra Alta's buildings actually sit
63.5% of Terra Alta's 857 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 36.5% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
How Terra Alta compares
Terra Alta's risk sits at a similar level relative to West Virginia (36th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (49th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Terra Alta ranks 16,123 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 13,115 by building count (1 is largest). Within West Virginia alone, it ranks 274 of 429 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for West Virginia on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Terra Alta's elevated rating (49th 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
Terra Alta's 63.5% 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 857 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Terra Alta. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Terra Alta, see the exposure-zones guide.