Needham, AL
Needham wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Needham lands at the 62nd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 91 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Needham at the 63rd national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Needham's buildings actually sit
91 buildings are counted in Needham, and 100% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0% rated Minimal.
How Needham compares
Needham's 62nd national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 29th ranking inside Alabama does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 32 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Needham ranks 12,026 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 29,432 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alabama alone, it ranks 417 of 592 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alabama on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Needham
Needham's 62nd-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Needham (100%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 91 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Needham. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Needham, see the exposure-zones guide.