Bristol, SD
Bristol wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Bristol lands at the 61st percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 262 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Bristol's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 59th percentile nationally.
Where Bristol's buildings actually sit
Most of Bristol's buildings (59.5%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
How Bristol compares
Bristol scores 61st nationally and 49th within South Dakota — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Bristol ranks 12,426 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,787 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 223 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Bristol's high rating (61st percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
What would actually reduce this score
Because 59.5% of Bristol's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Bristol's 61st-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Bristol, see the exposure-zones guide.