Williamstown, MA
How exposed is Williamstown to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Williamstown at the 20th national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 1,613 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Williamstown's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 20th percentile nationally.
Where Williamstown's buildings actually sit
Indirect exposure is dominant in Williamstown (63.1% of 1,613 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 36.9% sit in the Direct zone.
How Williamstown compares
Williamstown's risk sits at a similar level relative to Massachusetts (23rd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (20th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Williamstown ranks 25,122 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,719 by building count (1 is largest). Within Massachusetts alone, it ranks 192 of 248 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Massachusetts on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Williamstown
Williamstown's moderate wildfire rating (20th 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
Because 63.1% of Williamstown's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Williamstown's figures come from
Williamstown's 20th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Williamstown's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.