Brilliant, AL
Brilliant, AL's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Brilliant sits at the 67th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 666 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Brilliant at the 70th national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Brilliant's buildings actually sit
Direct exposure dominates in Brilliant: 80% of its 666 buildings, versus 20% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Where Brilliant ranks
Brilliant ranks lower within Alabama (38th percentile statewide) than its 67th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Brilliant ranks 10,513 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 14,994 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alabama alone, it ranks 364 of 592 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alabama on its state page.
Brilliant and the insurance market
Brilliant's 67th-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Hardening a home in Brilliant
Because Direct exposure dominates in Brilliant (80%), 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 666 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Brilliant. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Brilliant, see the exposure-zones guide.