Bakersfield, MO
How exposed is Bakersfield to wildfire?
Bakersfield's 238 buildings earn a 79th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — well above the national norm for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Bakersfield's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 83rd percentile nationally.
Where Bakersfield's buildings actually sit
Direct exposure dominates in Bakersfield: 76.1% of its 238 buildings, versus 24% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
How Bakersfield compares
Compare Bakersfield's two percentiles: 96th within Missouri, only 79th nationally — a gap of 16 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Bakersfield ranks 6,523 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 23,529 by building count (1 is largest). Within Missouri alone, it ranks 45 of 1,062 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Missouri on its state page.
Bakersfield and the insurance market
Bakersfield's high rating (79th 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Bakersfield (76.1%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Bakersfield's figures come from
Bakersfield's 79th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Bakersfield's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.