Zephyr Cove, NV
Zephyr Cove, NV's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Zephyr Cove's 495 buildings earn a 98th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Zephyr Cove at the 97th national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Zephyr Cove's buildings actually sit
USFS puts 67.3% of Zephyr Cove's 495 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 30.3% Direct and 2.4% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
How Zephyr Cove compares
Zephyr Cove's 98th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 80th ranking inside Nevada does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 18 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Zephyr Cove ranks 634 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,445 by building count (1 is largest). Within Nevada alone, it ranks 27 of 123 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Nevada on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 98th percentile nationally, Zephyr Cove carries the very 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.
Hardening a home in Zephyr Cove
Zephyr Cove's 67.3% 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.
Where Zephyr Cove's figures come from
Zephyr Cove's 98th-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 Zephyr Cove's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.