Central, AZ
How exposed is Central to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Central lands at the 78th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 400 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Central at the 77th national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Direct exposure dominates in Central: 59.5% of its 400 buildings, versus 33.5% Indirect and 7% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Central against the rest of the country
Central's 78th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 40th ranking inside Arizona does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 38 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Central ranks 6,860 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,200 by building count (1 is largest). Within Arizona alone, it ranks 263 of 441 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Arizona on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Central
Central's high rating (78th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Hardening a home in Central
With 59.5% of Central 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 Central's figures come from
Central's 78th-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 Central's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.