Waterford, OH
Waterford wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Waterford at the 38th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 333 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Waterford's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 41st percentile nationally.
Where Waterford's buildings actually sit
Most of Waterford's buildings (74.8%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Waterford against the rest of the country
Within Ohio, Waterford ranks higher (83rd percentile) than it does nationally (38th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Waterford ranks 19,452 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,740 by building count (1 is largest). Within Ohio alone, it ranks 210 of 1,264 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Ohio on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Waterford's moderate rating (38th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Waterford (74.8% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
Waterford's 38th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Waterford, see the exposure-zones guide.