Black Diamond, WA
Black Diamond, WA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Black Diamond lands at the 35th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 2,863 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Black Diamond's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 34th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS puts 69% of Black Diamond's 2,863 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 29.4% Direct and 1.6% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
How Black Diamond compares
Within Washington, Black Diamond ranks higher (53rd percentile) than it does nationally (35th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Black Diamond ranks 20,658 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 5,643 by building count (1 is largest). Within Washington alone, it ranks 293 of 628 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Washington on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Black Diamond's moderate wildfire rating (35th 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
Black Diamond's 69% 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,863 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Black Diamond. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Black Diamond, see the exposure-zones guide.