Briarwood, ND
How exposed is Briarwood to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Briarwood lands at the 33rd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 21 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Briarwood's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 34th percentile nationally.
Briarwood's building exposure, zone by zone
66.7% of Briarwood's 21 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 14 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 33.3% are Minimal. This is a small settlement by building count — 21 total — so these shares describe a handful of structures, not a statistical average across thousands.
Where Briarwood ranks
Briarwood's 33rd national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 14th ranking inside North Dakota does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 20 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Briarwood ranks 21,026 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 31,456 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Dakota alone, it ranks 347 of 402 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Dakota on its state page.
Briarwood and the insurance market
Briarwood's moderate rating (33rd percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Briarwood (66.7%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Briarwood's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 21 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Briarwood. Small places like Briarwood (21 buildings) are exactly where USFS's underlying data gets sparsest — see the data-quality guide for the 517 places that didn't clear the bar.