Yorktown, VA
How exposed is Yorktown to wildfire?
USFS scores Yorktown at the 53rd national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 183 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Yorktown's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 54th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Yorktown's buildings (65%) 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.
Where Yorktown ranks
Yorktown scores 53rd nationally and 57th within Virginia — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Yorktown ranks 14,893 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,516 by building count (1 is largest). Within Virginia alone, it ranks 290 of 681 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Virginia on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Yorktown's elevated rating (53rd 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
Yorktown's 65% 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
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 183 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Yorktown. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Yorktown, see the exposure-zones guide.