Alpha, MI
Alpha wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Alpha at the 54th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 182 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Alpha's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 55th percentile nationally.
Where Alpha's buildings actually sit
53.9% of Alpha's 182 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 98 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 46.2% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where Alpha ranks
Compare Alpha's two percentiles: 97th within Michigan, only 54th nationally — a gap of 43 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Alpha ranks 14,588 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,538 by building count (1 is largest). Within Michigan alone, it ranks 27 of 745 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Michigan on its state page.
Alpha and the insurance market
At the 54th national percentile, Alpha rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Alpha's 53.9% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Alpha's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Alpha's 14,588-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Alpha's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.