Plainfield, VT
Plainfield, VT's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Plainfield lands at the 15th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 209 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Plainfield at the 16th national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 53.6% of Plainfield's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 46.4% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 112 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Where Plainfield ranks
Plainfield's 43rd-percentile standing inside Vermont outpaces its 15th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Plainfield ranks 26,803 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,537 by building count (1 is largest). Within Vermont alone, it ranks 104 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
Plainfield's low wildfire rating (15th 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.
What would actually reduce this score
With 53.6% of Plainfield 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 Plainfield's figures come from
Plainfield's 15th-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 Plainfield's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.