Babb, MT
How exposed is Babb to wildfire?
USFS scores Babb at the 86th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 139 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Babb's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 85th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
139 buildings are counted in Babb, and 100% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0% rated Minimal.
Babb against the rest of the country
Babb's 86th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 66th ranking inside Montana does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 20 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Babb ranks 4,377 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,335 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 164 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
Babb and the insurance market
Babb's very high rating (86th 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
With 100% of Babb 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 Babb's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Babb's 4,377-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Babb's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.