Jamaica, VT
Jamaica wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Jamaica at the 17th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 157 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Jamaica at the 17th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
68.2% of Jamaica's 157 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 107 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 31.9% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where Jamaica ranks
Within Vermont, Jamaica ranks higher (73rd percentile) than it does nationally (17th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Jamaica ranks 26,108 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 26,589 by building count (1 is largest). Within Vermont alone, it ranks 47 of 179 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Vermont on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Jamaica
At the 17th national percentile, Jamaica rates low for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
With 68.2% of Jamaica in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
Where Jamaica's figures come from
Jamaica's 17th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Jamaica's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.