Berlin, AL
How exposed is Berlin to wildfire?
USFS scores Berlin at the 70th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 318 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Berlin at the 76th percentile, close to its 70th-percentile risk score.
Where Berlin's buildings actually sit
Direct exposure dominates in Berlin: 78.9% of its 318 buildings, versus 21.1% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
How Berlin compares
Berlin's 70th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 47th ranking inside Alabama does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 23 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Berlin ranks 9,316 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 21,139 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alabama alone, it ranks 313 of 592 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alabama on its state page.
Berlin and the insurance market
At the 70th percentile nationally, Berlin 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 Berlin
With 78.9% of Berlin 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 Berlin's figures come from
Berlin's 70th-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 Berlin's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.