Virginia City, NV
Virginia City wildfire risk explained
Virginia City sits at the 99th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 655 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Virginia City at the 99th percentile, close to its 99th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
75% of Virginia City's 655 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 25% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Where Virginia City ranks
There's little gap between Virginia City's 99th national percentile and its 95th percentile inside Nevada, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Virginia City ranks 198 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,133 by building count (1 is largest). Within Nevada alone, it ranks 7 of 123 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Nevada on its state page.
Virginia City and the insurance market
At the 99th percentile nationally, Virginia City carries the very 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
Virginia City's 75% 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 Virginia City's figures come from
Virginia City's 99th-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 Virginia City's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.