Pawlet, VT
Pawlet wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Pawlet at the 26th national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 223 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Pawlet at the 25th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Pawlet's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 95.5% of Pawlet's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 4.5% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 213 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
How Pawlet compares
Compare Pawlet's two percentiles: 100th within Vermont, only 26th nationally — a gap of 74 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Pawlet ranks 23,370 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,037 by building count (1 is largest). Within Vermont alone, it ranks 1 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
At the 26th national percentile, Pawlet rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Pawlet
With 95.5% of Pawlet 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 Pawlet's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 223 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Pawlet. The exposure-zones guide covers what Pawlet's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.