Vale, OR
Vale wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Vale lands at the 86th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 1,082 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Vale's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 87th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Indirect exposure is dominant in Vale (88.9% of 1,082 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 10.5% sit in the Direct zone.
Vale against the rest of the country
Inside Oregon, Vale sits at just the 68th percentile even though it scores 86th 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, Vale ranks 4,352 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,397 by building count (1 is largest). Within Oregon alone, it ranks 136 of 420 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Oregon on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Vale
Vale sits in Oregon, one of two states that legally require a wildfire-risk disclosure at sale. Sellers here disclose wildfire-hazard status before closing, the same number this page reports at the 86th national percentile. More on the disclosure law.
Hardening a home in Vale
Vale's 88.9% 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,082 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Vale. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Vale, see the exposure-zones guide.