Brentford, SD
Brentford, SD's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Brentford sits at the 57th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 94 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Brentford at the 56th percentile, close to its 57th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 60.6% of Brentford's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 0% Indirect share and far above its 39.4% Minimal share — a profile where 57 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Where Brentford ranks
Brentford's risk sits at a similar level relative to South Dakota (42nd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (57th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Brentford ranks 13,561 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 29,336 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 255 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
Brentford and the insurance market
Brentford's elevated wildfire rating (57th 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Brentford'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 Brentford's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 94 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Brentford. The exposure-zones guide covers what Brentford's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.