Bow, WA
Bow, WA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Bow sits at the 11th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 194 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Bow at the 14th national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
63.9% of Bow's 194 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 124 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 36.1% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
How Bow compares
Bow's risk sits at a similar level relative to Washington (12th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (11th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Bow ranks 27,972 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,106 by building count (1 is largest). Within Washington alone, it ranks 550 of 628 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Washington on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Bow
At the 11th national percentile, Bow rates low for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Bow
Because Direct exposure dominates in Bow (63.9%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Bow's 27,972-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Bow, see the exposure-zones guide.