Banks Lake South, WA
How exposed is Banks Lake South to wildfire?
USFS scores Banks Lake South at the 96th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 217 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Banks Lake South at the 96th percentile, close to its 96th-percentile risk score.
Banks Lake South's building exposure, zone by zone
69.1% of Banks Lake South's 217 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 150 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 30.9% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where Banks Lake South ranks
Banks Lake South's risk sits at a similar level relative to Washington (90th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (96th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Banks Lake South ranks 1,308 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,257 by building count (1 is largest). Within Washington alone, it ranks 66 of 628 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Washington on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Banks Lake South
At the 96th percentile nationally, Banks Lake South carries the very high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Hardening a home in Banks Lake South
Because Direct exposure dominates in Banks Lake South (69.1%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Banks Lake South's 96th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Banks Lake South, see the exposure-zones guide.