West Union, SC
West Union wildfire risk explained
West Union's 263 buildings earn a 70th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — well above the national norm for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, West Union's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 73rd percentile nationally.
West Union's building exposure, zone by zone
66.9% of West Union's 263 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 176 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 33.1% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where West Union ranks
There's little gap between West Union's 70th national percentile and its 59th percentile inside South Carolina, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, West Union ranks 9,433 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,754 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Carolina alone, it ranks 197 of 474 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Carolina on its state page.
West Union and the insurance market
At the 70th percentile nationally, West Union carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
What would actually reduce this score
West Union's 66.9% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind West Union's 9,433-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond West Union, see the exposure-zones guide.