Union, MS
How exposed is Union to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Union lands at the 62nd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 1,083 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Union at the 64th national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Union's building exposure, zone by zone
80.1% of Union's 1,083 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 867 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 19.9% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Union against the rest of the country
Union's 62nd national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 38th ranking inside Mississippi does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 24 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Union ranks 12,004 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,392 by building count (1 is largest). Within Mississippi alone, it ranks 263 of 420 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Mississippi on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Union's 62nd-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Union (80.1%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Union's figures come from
Union's 62nd-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 Union's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.