Bowdoinham, ME
Bowdoinham wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Bowdoinham at the 9th national percentile for risk to structures, among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a score built from 416 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Bowdoinham at the 9th percentile, close to its 9th-percentile risk score.
Where Bowdoinham's buildings actually sit
Of Bowdoinham's 416 counted buildings, 87% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Where Bowdoinham ranks
Within Maine, Bowdoinham ranks higher (40th percentile) than it does nationally (9th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Bowdoinham ranks 28,681 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,908 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maine alone, it ranks 94 of 155 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maine on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 9th national percentile, Bowdoinham rates low for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 87% of Bowdoinham 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 Bowdoinham's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Bowdoinham's 28,681-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Bowdoinham's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.