Northfield, VT
Northfield wildfire risk explained
Northfield's 1,034 buildings earn a 15th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Northfield at the 16th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Northfield's building exposure, zone by zone
58.3% of Northfield's 1,034 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 41.7% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Northfield against the rest of the country
Within Vermont, Northfield ranks higher (43rd percentile) than it does nationally (15th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Northfield ranks 26,768 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,700 by building count (1 is largest). Within Vermont alone, it ranks 101 of 179 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Vermont on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Northfield's low rating (15th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Northfield
Northfield's 58.3% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,034 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Northfield. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Northfield, see the exposure-zones guide.