Spruce Pine, AL
Spruce Pine, AL's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Spruce Pine at the 67th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 143 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Spruce Pine at the 69th percentile, close to its 67th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
143 buildings are counted in Spruce Pine, and 76.9% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0% rated Minimal.
Spruce Pine against the rest of the country
Spruce Pine ranks lower within Alabama (38th percentile statewide) than its 67th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Spruce Pine ranks 10,515 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,142 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alabama alone, it ranks 366 of 592 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alabama on its state page.
Spruce Pine and the insurance market
At the 67th percentile nationally, Spruce Pine 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 Spruce Pine
With 76.9% of Spruce Pine 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 Spruce Pine's figures come from
Spruce Pine's 67th-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 Spruce Pine's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.