Hartford, AL
Hartford, AL's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Hartford sits at the 56th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,709 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Hartford at the 55th percentile, close to its 56th-percentile risk score.
Hartford's building exposure, zone by zone
Most of Hartford's buildings (53.7%) 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.
Hartford against the rest of the country
Hartford ranks lower within Alabama (13th percentile statewide) than its 56th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Hartford ranks 13,982 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,385 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alabama alone, it ranks 515 of 592 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alabama on its state page.
Hartford and the insurance market
Hartford's elevated wildfire rating (56th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
What would actually reduce this score
Hartford's 53.7% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Hartford's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Hartford's 13,982-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Hartford's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.