Ware, MA
How exposed is Ware to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Ware lands at the 30th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 2,588 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Ware's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 27th percentile nationally.
Where Ware's buildings actually sit
70.9% of Ware's 2,588 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 29.1% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
How Ware compares
Compare Ware's two percentiles: 75th within Massachusetts, only 30th nationally — a gap of 45 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Ware ranks 22,184 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,124 by building count (1 is largest). Within Massachusetts alone, it ranks 63 of 248 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Massachusetts on its state page.
Ware and the insurance market
Ware's moderate wildfire rating (30th 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 Ware
Ware's 70.9% 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.
Where Ware's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Ware's 22,184-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Ware's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.