Manchester Center, VT
Manchester Center wildfire risk explained
Manchester Center's 1,554 buildings earn a 17th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Manchester Center at the 17th percentile, close to its 17th-percentile risk score.
Manchester Center's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS classifies 50.3% of Manchester Center's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 49.7% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 781 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Manchester Center against the rest of the country
Compare Manchester Center's two percentiles: 70th within Vermont, only 17th nationally — a gap of 53 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Manchester Center ranks 26,235 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,942 by building count (1 is largest). Within Vermont alone, it ranks 54 of 179 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Vermont on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Manchester Center
At the 17th national percentile, Manchester Center 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
Because Direct exposure dominates in Manchester Center (50.3%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Manchester Center's figures come from
Manchester Center'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 Manchester Center's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.