West Columbia, TX
West Columbia, TX's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
West Columbia sits at the 80th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,885 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 West Columbia at the 84th percentile, close to its 80th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS puts 62.1% of West Columbia's 1,885 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 37.9% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
West Columbia against the rest of the country
West Columbia ranks lower within Texas (61st percentile statewide) than its 80th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, West Columbia ranks 6,351 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,805 by building count (1 is largest). Within Texas alone, it ranks 707 of 1,795 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Texas on its state page.
West Columbia and the insurance market
West Columbia's high rating (80th 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 West Columbia
Because 62.1% of West Columbia's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where West Columbia's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,885 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for West Columbia. The exposure-zones guide covers what West Columbia's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.