East Pepperell, MA
East Pepperell wildfire risk explained
East Pepperell's 735 buildings earn a 47th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, East Pepperell's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 42nd percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of East Pepperell's buildings (78.9%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Where East Pepperell ranks
Compare East Pepperell's two percentiles: 100th within Massachusetts, only 47th nationally — a gap of 53 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, East Pepperell ranks 16,704 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 14,273 by building count (1 is largest). Within Massachusetts alone, it ranks 2 of 248 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Massachusetts on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in East Pepperell
At the 47th national percentile, East Pepperell rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in East Pepperell (78.9% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where East Pepperell's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind East Pepperell's 16,704-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what East Pepperell's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.