Bismarck, AR
Bismarck wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Bismarck at the 77th national percentile for risk to structures, well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a score built from 243 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Bismarck's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 80th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Direct exposure dominates in Bismarck: 86.4% of its 243 buildings, versus 13.6% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Where Bismarck ranks
Bismarck scores 77th nationally and 71st within Arkansas — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Bismarck ranks 7,302 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 23,350 by building count (1 is largest). Within Arkansas alone, it ranks 180 of 614 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Arkansas on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Bismarck's 77th-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Bismarck (86.4%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Bismarck's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Bismarck's 7,302-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Bismarck's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.