Bear Creek, AL
Bear Creek wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Bear Creek lands at the 66th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 848 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Bear Creek at the 69th national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Direct exposure dominates in Bear Creek: 81.4% of its 848 buildings, versus 18.5% Indirect and 0.1% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Bear Creek against the rest of the country
Bear Creek ranks lower within Alabama (37th percentile statewide) than its 66th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Bear Creek ranks 10,797 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 13,174 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alabama alone, it ranks 372 of 592 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alabama on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Bear Creek
At the 66th percentile nationally, Bear Creek carries the 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 Bear Creek
Because Direct exposure dominates in Bear Creek (81.4%), 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
Every one of the two percentiles behind Bear Creek's 10,797-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Bear Creek, see the exposure-zones guide.