Balm, FL
How exposed is Balm to wildfire?
Balm sits at the 91st percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 2,575 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Balm at the 93rd national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Balm's building exposure, zone by zone
54.8% of Balm's 2,575 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 1,411 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 45.2% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
How Balm compares
There's little gap between Balm's 91st national percentile and its 84th percentile inside Florida, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Balm ranks 2,828 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,149 by building count (1 is largest). Within Florida alone, it ranks 157 of 955 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Florida on its state page.
Balm and the insurance market
At the 91st percentile nationally, Balm 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 54.8% of Balm in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
Where Balm's figures come from
Balm's 91st-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 Balm's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.