Branch, LA
How exposed is Branch to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Branch lands at the 43rd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 345 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Branch at the 45th 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
Of Branch's 345 counted buildings, 61.5% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Branch against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Branch's 43rd national percentile and its 44th percentile inside Louisiana, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Branch ranks 17,987 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,448 by building count (1 is largest). Within Louisiana alone, it ranks 276 of 488 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Louisiana on its state page.
Branch and the insurance market
Branch's elevated wildfire rating (43rd 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.
Hardening a home in Branch
With 61.5% of Branch 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.
Where Branch's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 345 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Branch. The exposure-zones guide covers what Branch's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.