Adams, MA
Adams wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Adams lands at the 19th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 2,537 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 Adams at the 19th percentile, close to its 19th-percentile risk score.
Where Adams's buildings actually sit
USFS puts 81% of Adams's 2,537 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 19% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Adams against the rest of the country
Adams's risk sits at a similar level relative to Massachusetts (19th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (19th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Adams ranks 25,527 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,233 by building count (1 is largest). Within Massachusetts alone, it ranks 200 of 248 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Massachusetts on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Adams's low rating (19th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Adams
Because 81% of Adams's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Adams's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Adams's 25,527-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Adams's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.