Winchester, NH
How exposed is Winchester to wildfire?
USFS scores Winchester at the 19th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 781 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Winchester's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 19th percentile nationally.
Where Winchester's buildings actually sit
Direct exposure dominates in Winchester: 54.3% of its 781 buildings, versus 45.7% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
How Winchester compares
Compare Winchester's two percentiles: 63rd within New Hampshire, only 19th nationally — a gap of 43 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Winchester ranks 25,409 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 13,805 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Hampshire alone, it ranks 38 of 100 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Hampshire on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Winchester
Winchester's low rating (19th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 54.3% of Winchester 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 Winchester's figures come from
Winchester's 19th-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 Winchester's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.