Houlton, ME
How exposed is Houlton to wildfire?
Houlton sits at the 13th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 2,560 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 Houlton at the 13th percentile, close to its 13th-percentile risk score.
Houlton's building exposure, zone by zone
62% of Houlton's 2,560 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 38% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Houlton against the rest of the country
Houlton's 66th-percentile standing inside Maine outpaces its 13th 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, Houlton ranks 27,352 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,180 by building count (1 is largest). Within Maine alone, it ranks 54 of 155 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Maine on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 13th national percentile, Houlton rates low 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 Houlton (62% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Houlton's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Houlton's 27,352-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Houlton's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.