Cardiff, AL
Cardiff wildfire risk explained
Cardiff sits at the 77th 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 41 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Cardiff's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 80th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
100% of Cardiff's 41 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 41 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Cardiff against the rest of the country
Cardiff's risk sits at a similar level relative to Alabama (65th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (77th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Cardiff ranks 7,393 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 31,131 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alabama alone, it ranks 205 of 592 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alabama on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Cardiff's 77th-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.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Cardiff (100%), 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 41 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Cardiff. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Cardiff, see the exposure-zones guide.