West Union, WV
How exposed is West Union to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, West Union lands at the 44th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 472 buildings, not the land around them. (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 Union at the 44th percentile, close to its 44th-percentile risk score.
Where West Union's buildings actually sit
Most of West Union's buildings (86.4%) 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.
West Union against the rest of the country
West Union's 44th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 26th ranking inside West Virginia does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 18 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, West Union ranks 17,762 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,846 by building count (1 is largest). Within West Virginia alone, it ranks 320 of 429 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for West Virginia on its state page.
West Union and the insurance market
West Union's elevated rating (44th 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 West Union (86.4% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where West Union's figures come from
West Union's 44th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what West Union's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.