Wells River, VT
How exposed is Wells River to wildfire?
USFS scores Wells River at the 15th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 203 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Wells River at the 15th national percentile — 0 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Wells River's building exposure, zone by zone
57.6% of Wells River's 203 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 117 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 42.4% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where Wells River ranks
Compare Wells River's two percentiles: 49th within Vermont, only 15th nationally — a gap of 34 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Wells River ranks 26,676 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,752 by building count (1 is largest). Within Vermont alone, it ranks 92 of 179 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Vermont on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Wells River's low wildfire rating (15th 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.
What would actually reduce this score
With 57.6% of Wells River 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 Wells River's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 203 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Wells River. The exposure-zones guide covers what Wells River's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.