Bottineau, ND
Bottineau wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Bottineau lands at the 56th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 1,413 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Bottineau's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 54th percentile nationally.
Bottineau's building exposure, zone by zone
Most of Bottineau's buildings (69.6%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
How Bottineau compares
Bottineau's risk sits at a similar level relative to North Dakota (66th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (56th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Bottineau ranks 13,843 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 9,570 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Dakota alone, it ranks 139 of 402 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Dakota on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Bottineau's elevated wildfire rating (56th 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
Bottineau's 69.6% 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 Bottineau's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,413 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Bottineau. The exposure-zones guide covers what Bottineau's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.