West Falmouth, MA
West Falmouth wildfire risk explained
West Falmouth sits at the 25th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,686 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts West Falmouth at the 19th percentile, close to its 25th-percentile risk score.
West Falmouth's building exposure, zone by zone
58.7% of West Falmouth's 1,686 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 989 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 26.9% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 14.5% are Minimal.
Where West Falmouth ranks
West Falmouth's 43rd-percentile standing inside Massachusetts outpaces its 25th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, West Falmouth ranks 23,670 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,475 by building count (1 is largest). Within Massachusetts alone, it ranks 143 of 248 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Massachusetts on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 25th national percentile, West Falmouth rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in West Falmouth
Because Direct exposure dominates in West Falmouth (58.7%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind West Falmouth's 23,670-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond West Falmouth, see the exposure-zones guide.