What is a wildfire risk score?

What drives wildfire risk

Wildfire exposure comes down to a few things working together: the amount and dryness of nearby vegetation that can burn (the "fuel"), the terrain (fire moves faster uphill), the weather (heat, wind, and low humidity), and how close a property sits to wildland. Communities in the wildland-urban interface — where homes meet undeveloped vegetation — generally carry the most exposure.

The public data behind it

Wildfire risk information is published by U.S. public agencies:

• USDA Forest Service — wildfire risk data and the Wildfire Risk to Communities program (wildfirerisk.org).
• FEMA National Risk Index — a wildfire component alongside other hazards (hazards.fema.gov/nri).
• USGS — landscape, fuels, and post-fire data.
• National Weather Service — Red Flag Warnings and fire-weather forecasts for near-term conditions.

Reading a wildfire score

A higher score means greater modeled exposure — not a prediction that a fire will happen on a given day. Two homes on the same street can score differently based on slope, surrounding vegetation, and defensible space. Use the score to understand baseline exposure, and pair it with live fire-weather alerts for the day-to-day picture.

How RiskMap surfaces wildfire risk

RiskMap reads wildfire risk data and related public-agency data for a location and presents it as part of a clear, deterministic risk read — alongside flood, crime, environmental, and live-condition factors. During fire season it also surfaces live conditions like air quality and active-alert information, so the standing risk and the current situation sit side by side.

What to do next

• Check the address against the Forest Service's Wildfire Risk to Communities data.
• Create defensible space and review home-hardening guidance for high-exposure areas.
• Turn on alerts so you see Red Flag Warnings and air-quality changes in real time.
• Open RiskMap to see wildfire exposure alongside the location's other hazards.