Big Sandy, MT
Big Sandy, MT's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Big Sandy at the 50th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 555 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Big Sandy's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 49th percentile nationally.
Big Sandy's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS puts 97.5% of Big Sandy's 555 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 2.5% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Where Big Sandy ranks
Big Sandy's 50th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 13th ranking inside Montana does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 37 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Big Sandy ranks 15,856 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,499 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 413 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
Big Sandy and the insurance market
At the 50th national percentile, Big Sandy 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
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Big Sandy (97.5% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 555 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Big Sandy. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Big Sandy, see the exposure-zones guide.