Alta, WY
Alta wildfire risk explained
Alta sits at the 87th 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 398 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Alta's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 86th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 92.7% of Alta's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 7.3% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 369 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Where Alta ranks
There's little gap between Alta's 87th national percentile and its 81st percentile inside Wyoming, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Alta ranks 4,081 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,258 by building count (1 is largest). Within Wyoming alone, it ranks 37 of 192 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Wyoming on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Alta's very high rating (87th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Alta's 92.7% 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 398 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Alta. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Alta, see the exposure-zones guide.