Newton, AL
Newton wildfire risk explained
Newton's 1,168 buildings earn a 52nd-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Newton at the 53rd percentile, close to its 52nd-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
1,168 buildings are counted in Newton, and 83.4% 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.
Where Newton ranks
Newton ranks lower within Alabama (8th percentile statewide) than its 52nd national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Newton ranks 15,179 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,842 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alabama alone, it ranks 545 of 592 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alabama on its state page.
Newton and the insurance market
Newton's elevated wildfire rating (52nd 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 83.4% of Newton 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.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Newton's 15,179-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Newton, see the exposure-zones guide.