Winchendon, MA
Winchendon wildfire risk explained
Winchendon's 1,573 buildings earn a 23rd-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Winchendon's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 23rd percentile nationally.
Winchendon's building exposure, zone by zone
74.2% of Winchendon's 1,573 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 25.8% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Where Winchendon ranks
Winchendon scores 23rd nationally and 32nd within Massachusetts — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Winchendon ranks 24,426 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,872 by building count (1 is largest). Within Massachusetts alone, it ranks 171 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
Winchendon's moderate rating (23rd percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Winchendon (74.2% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Winchendon's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Winchendon's 24,426-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Winchendon's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.