Brandt, SD
How exposed is Brandt to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Brandt at the 43rd national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 160 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Brandt at the 37th national percentile — 6 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Brandt's building exposure, zone by zone
Direct exposure dominates in Brandt: 60.6% of its 160 buildings, versus 0% Indirect and 39.4% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Brandt against the rest of the country
Brandt's 43rd national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 18th ranking inside South Dakota does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 25 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Brandt ranks 18,041 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 26,454 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 360 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
Brandt and the insurance market
At the 43rd national percentile, Brandt rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Brandt's 60.6% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Brandt's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 160 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Brandt. The exposure-zones guide covers what Brandt's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.