Akaska, SD
Akaska wildfire risk explained
Akaska sits at the 93rd percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 274 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Akaska at the 89th national percentile — 3 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS puts 81% of Akaska's 274 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 19% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
How Akaska compares
There's little gap between Akaska's 93rd national percentile and its 96th percentile inside South Dakota, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Akaska ranks 2,280 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,409 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 19 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Akaska
At the 93rd percentile nationally, Akaska carries the very high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
What would actually reduce this score
Because 81% of Akaska'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 Akaska's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 274 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Akaska. The exposure-zones guide covers what Akaska's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.