Watchung, NJ
Watchung, NJ's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Watchung at the 32nd national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 2,449 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Watchung at the 31st national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Watchung's building exposure, zone by zone
2,449 buildings are counted in Watchung, and 88.1% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 2.3% rated Minimal.
Watchung against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Watchung's 32nd national percentile and its 29th percentile inside New Jersey, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Watchung ranks 21,333 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,399 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Jersey alone, it ranks 496 of 700 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Jersey on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Watchung
At the 32nd national percentile, Watchung rates moderate 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
With 88.1% of Watchung 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 Watchung's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Watchung's 21,333-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Watchung's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.