Stowe, VT
Stowe wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Stowe at the 12th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 314 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Stowe's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 13th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Stowe's buildings (54.8%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
How Stowe compares
Stowe scores 12th nationally and 15th within Vermont — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Stowe ranks 27,622 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 21,269 by building count (1 is largest). Within Vermont alone, it ranks 153 of 179 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Vermont on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Stowe
Stowe's low wildfire rating (12th 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.
Hardening a home in Stowe
Stowe's 54.8% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Stowe's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 314 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Stowe. The exposure-zones guide covers what Stowe's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.