Washington, NC
How exposed is Washington to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Washington at the 47th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 4,815 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Washington at the 47th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Washington rates 35% Minimal exposure against just 31.8% Direct and 33.1% Indirect — of 4,815 buildings counted, few sit close enough to burnable vegetation for USFS to flag them individually.
Where Washington ranks
Washington ranks lower within North Carolina (32nd percentile statewide) than its 47th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Washington ranks 16,617 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 3,546 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 524 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Washington and the insurance market
Washington's elevated rating (47th 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 Washington
With 35% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Washington gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
More on how this number was built
Washington's 47th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Washington, see the exposure-zones guide.