Smoke Rise, AL
Smoke Rise wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Smoke Rise at the 75th national percentile for risk to structures, well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a score built from 922 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Smoke Rise at the 78th national percentile — 4 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Smoke Rise's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 99.7% of Smoke Rise's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 0.3% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 919 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Where Smoke Rise ranks
Smoke Rise's 75th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 58th ranking inside Alabama does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 17 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Smoke Rise ranks 7,960 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,535 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alabama alone, it ranks 249 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 75th percentile nationally, Smoke Rise 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.
What would actually reduce this score
With 99.7% of Smoke Rise 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
Smoke Rise's 75th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Smoke Rise, see the exposure-zones guide.