Barre, MA
Barre, MA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Barre lands at the 26th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 530 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 Barre at the 25th percentile, close to its 26th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
530 buildings are counted in Barre, and 60% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0% rated Minimal.
Where Barre ranks
Barre's 46th-percentile standing inside Massachusetts outpaces its 26th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Barre ranks 23,485 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,862 by building count (1 is largest). Within Massachusetts alone, it ranks 134 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
Barre's moderate wildfire rating (26th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Hardening a home in Barre
Because Direct exposure dominates in Barre (60%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 530 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Barre. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Barre, see the exposure-zones guide.