Water Valley, MS
How exposed is Water Valley to wildfire?
USFS scores Water Valley at the 75th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 1,865 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Water Valley's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 78th percentile nationally.
Water Valley's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS puts 50.4% of Water Valley's 1,865 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 49.6% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
How Water Valley compares
Water Valley scores 75th nationally and 71st within Mississippi — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Water Valley ranks 7,942 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,863 by building count (1 is largest). Within Mississippi alone, it ranks 122 of 420 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Mississippi on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Water Valley
Water Valley's high rating (75th 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.
Hardening a home in Water Valley
Water Valley's 50.4% 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 Water Valley's figures come from
Water Valley's 75th-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 Water Valley's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.