Wendell, NC
Wendell, NC's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Wendell sits at the 38th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 4,107 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Wendell at the 40th national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Wendell's buildings actually sit
4,107 buildings are counted in Wendell, and 59.3% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0% rated Minimal.
Wendell against the rest of the country
Wendell's 38th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 13th ranking inside North Carolina does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 26 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Wendell ranks 19,513 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 4,137 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Carolina alone, it ranks 675 of 772 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Carolina on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Wendell
At the 38th national percentile, Wendell rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Wendell
With 59.3% of Wendell in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Wendell'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 direct exposure implies beyond Wendell, see the exposure-zones guide.