Charlestown, NH
Charlestown wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Charlestown at the 16th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 566 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Charlestown at the 16th percentile, close to its 16th-percentile risk score.
Where Charlestown's buildings actually sit
75.8% of Charlestown's 566 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 24.2% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Charlestown against the rest of the country
Charlestown's risk sits at a similar level relative to New Hampshire (28th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (16th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Charlestown ranks 26,538 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,313 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Hampshire alone, it ranks 70 of 100 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Hampshire on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 16th national percentile, Charlestown rates low for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Charlestown
Because 75.8% of Charlestown's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Charlestown's figures come from
Charlestown's 16th-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 Charlestown's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.