Thurmont, MD
Thurmont wildfire risk explained
Thurmont sits at the 42nd percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 2,557 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Thurmont's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 38th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS puts 72.9% of Thurmont's 2,557 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 27.1% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
How Thurmont compares
Thurmont's 60th-percentile standing inside Maryland outpaces its 42nd 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, Thurmont ranks 18,432 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,184 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maryland alone, it ranks 214 of 527 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maryland on its state page.
Thurmont and the insurance market
Thurmont's elevated rating (42nd percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Thurmont
Because 72.9% of Thurmont's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Thurmont's figures come from
Thurmont's 42nd-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 Thurmont's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.