West Lake Hills, TX
How exposed is West Lake Hills to wildfire?
West Lake Hills sits at the 73rd 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 1,882 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, West Lake Hills's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 71st percentile nationally.
Where West Lake Hills's buildings actually sit
76.5% of West Lake Hills's 1,882 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 1,439 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 22% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 1.5% are Minimal.
How West Lake Hills compares
West Lake Hills's 73rd national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 41st ranking inside Texas does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 32 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, West Lake Hills ranks 8,398 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,819 by building count (1 is largest). Within Texas alone, it ranks 1,065 of 1,795 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Texas on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
West Lake Hills's high rating (73rd 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.
What would actually reduce this score
With 76.5% of West Lake Hills 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.
Where West Lake Hills's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind West Lake Hills's 8,398-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what West Lake Hills's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.