Damariscotta, ME
How exposed is Damariscotta to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Damariscotta at the 7th national percentile for risk to structures, among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a score built from 750 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Damariscotta at the 7th national percentile — 0 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Damariscotta's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS classifies 61.2% of Damariscotta's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 37.9% Indirect share and far above its 0.9% Minimal share — a profile where 459 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Where Damariscotta ranks
Damariscotta's risk sits at a similar level relative to Maine (9th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (7th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Damariscotta ranks 29,305 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 14,122 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maine alone, it ranks 140 of 155 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maine on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Damariscotta
Damariscotta's low rating (7th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
With 61.2% of Damariscotta 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.
More on how this number was built
Damariscotta's 7th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Damariscotta, see the exposure-zones guide.