Birchwood, WI
How exposed is Birchwood to wildfire?
Birchwood's 429 buildings earn a 10th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Birchwood at the 10th national percentile — 0 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
429 buildings are counted in Birchwood, and 52.7% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 44.5% in Direct exposure or the 2.8% rated Minimal.
Birchwood against the rest of the country
Birchwood scores 10th nationally and 6th within Wisconsin — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Birchwood ranks 28,321 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,684 by building count (1 is largest). Within Wisconsin alone, it ranks 756 of 808 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Wisconsin on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Birchwood
Birchwood's low wildfire rating (10th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Birchwood's 52.7% 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 Birchwood's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 429 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Birchwood. The exposure-zones guide covers what Birchwood's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.