Brookside, NJ
How exposed is Brookside to wildfire?
Brookside's 790 buildings earn a 37th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Brookside's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 36th percentile nationally.
Where Brookside's buildings actually sit
99.2% of Brookside's 790 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 784 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0.8% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
How Brookside compares
Brookside scores 37th nationally and 38th within New Jersey — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Brookside ranks 19,824 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 13,729 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Jersey alone, it ranks 438 of 700 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Jersey on its state page.
Brookside and the insurance market
At the 37th national percentile, Brookside rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
With 99.2% of Brookside 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 Brookside's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 790 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Brookside. The exposure-zones guide covers what Brookside's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.