Shorter, AL
How exposed is Shorter to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Shorter at the 68th national percentile for risk to structures, well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a score built from 319 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Shorter's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 70th percentile nationally.
Shorter's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS classifies 92.8% of Shorter's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 7.2% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 296 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Shorter against the rest of the country
Inside Alabama, Shorter sits at just the 41st percentile even though it scores 68th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Shorter ranks 10,199 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 21,109 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alabama alone, it ranks 349 of 592 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alabama on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 68th percentile nationally, Shorter carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Hardening a home in Shorter
Because Direct exposure dominates in Shorter (92.8%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Shorter's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Shorter's 10,199-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Shorter's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.