Vernal, UT
Vernal, UT's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Vernal's 4,463 buildings earn a 60th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Vernal at the 59th percentile, close to its 60th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 77.5% of Vernal's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 10.5% Direct and 12% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
Vernal against the rest of the country
Vernal ranks lower within Utah (16th percentile statewide) than its 60th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Vernal ranks 12,746 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 3,827 by building count (1 is largest). Within Utah alone, it ranks 273 of 326 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Utah on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 60th national percentile, Vernal rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Even with 77.5% of Vernal outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 4,463 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Vernal. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Vernal, see the exposure-zones guide.