Boneau, MT
Boneau, MT's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Boneau's 132 buildings earn a 83rd-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Boneau at the 83rd percentile, close to its 83rd-percentile risk score.
Where Boneau's buildings actually sit
Direct exposure dominates in Boneau: 93.9% of its 132 buildings, versus 6.1% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Where Boneau ranks
Boneau ranks lower within Montana (59th percentile statewide) than its 83rd national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Boneau ranks 5,234 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,628 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 194 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Boneau
Boneau's 83rd-percentile, very 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 93.9% of Boneau in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 132 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Boneau. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Boneau, see the exposure-zones guide.