Aurora, SD
Aurora, SD's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Aurora's 431 buildings earn a 47th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Aurora at the 47th percentile, close to its 47th-percentile risk score.
Aurora's building exposure, zone by zone
Aurora rates 58.5% Minimal exposure against just 41.5% Direct and 0% Indirect — of 431 buildings counted, few sit close enough to burnable vegetation for USFS to flag them individually.
How Aurora compares
Aurora ranks lower within South Dakota (25th percentile statewide) than its 47th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Aurora ranks 16,589 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,635 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 330 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 47th national percentile, Aurora 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
Aurora's 58.5% Minimal-exposure share means structure-level hardening matters less here than it would elsewhere — still worth the low-cost basics, per the home-hardening guide.
Where Aurora's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 431 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Aurora. The exposure-zones guide covers what Aurora's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.