Baudette, MN
Baudette, MN's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Baudette at the 56th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 900 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Baudette's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 55th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Baudette's buildings (61.9%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Baudette against the rest of the country
Baudette's 82nd-percentile standing inside Minnesota outpaces its 56th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Baudette ranks 13,735 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,722 by building count (1 is largest). Within Minnesota alone, it ranks 161 of 914 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Minnesota on its state page.
Baudette and the insurance market
At the 56th national percentile, Baudette 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
Baudette's 61.9% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Baudette's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Baudette's 13,735-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Baudette's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.