Gardiner, ME
Gardiner, ME's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Gardiner at the 8th national percentile for risk to structures, among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a score built from 3,189 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Gardiner at the 8th national percentile — 0 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
60.2% of Gardiner's 3,189 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 1,920 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 39.4% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0.4% are Minimal.
Gardiner against the rest of the country
Gardiner's 24th-percentile standing inside Maine outpaces its 8th 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, Gardiner ranks 29,120 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 5,177 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maine alone, it ranks 119 of 155 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maine on its state page.
Gardiner and the insurance market
At the 8th national percentile, Gardiner 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 Gardiner
Because Direct exposure dominates in Gardiner (60.2%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Gardiner's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 3,189 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Gardiner. The exposure-zones guide covers what Gardiner's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.