West Wendover, NV
How exposed is West Wendover to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts West Wendover at the 65th national percentile for risk to structures, well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a score built from 1,263 actual buildings. (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 Wendover at the 62nd percentile, close to its 65th-percentile risk score.
Where West Wendover's buildings actually sit
USFS puts 93.1% of West Wendover's 1,263 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 6.9% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
How West Wendover compares
West Wendover ranks lower within Nevada (24th percentile statewide) than its 65th 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 Wendover ranks 11,130 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,277 by building count (1 is largest). Within Nevada alone, it ranks 94 of 123 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Nevada on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in West Wendover
At the 65th percentile nationally, West Wendover 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 Wendover's 93.1% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
West Wendover's 65th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond West Wendover, see the exposure-zones guide.