Belk, AL
Belk wildfire risk explained
Belk sits at the 57th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 217 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Belk at the 60th national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Belk's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 73.3% of Belk's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 26.7% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 159 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
How Belk compares
Belk's 57th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 17th ranking inside Alabama does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 40 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Belk ranks 13,508 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,224 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alabama alone, it ranks 490 of 592 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alabama on its state page.
Belk and the insurance market
Belk's elevated rating (57th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
With 73.3% of Belk 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 Belk's figures come from
Belk's 57th-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 Belk's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.