Thornton, TX
How exposed is Thornton to wildfire?
Thornton's 347 buildings earn a 81st-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Thornton at the 82nd national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Thornton's building exposure, zone by zone
65.7% of Thornton's 347 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 228 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 34.3% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
How Thornton compares
Thornton's 81st national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 63rd ranking inside Texas does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 18 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Thornton ranks 6,036 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,411 by building count (1 is largest). Within Texas alone, it ranks 659 of 1,795 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Texas on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Thornton's very high rating (81st percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Thornton (65.7%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 347 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Thornton. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Thornton, see the exposure-zones guide.