Dorset, VT
Dorset wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Dorset at the 19th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 403 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 Dorset at the 20th percentile, close to its 19th-percentile risk score.
Dorset's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS classifies 83.9% of Dorset's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 16.1% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 338 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Where Dorset ranks
Dorset's 88th-percentile standing inside Vermont outpaces its 19th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Dorset ranks 25,480 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,161 by building count (1 is largest). Within Vermont alone, it ranks 23 of 179 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Vermont on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Dorset's low rating (19th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Dorset's 83.9% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 403 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Dorset. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Dorset, see the exposure-zones guide.