Brookston, MN
How exposed is Brookston to wildfire?
Brookston sits at the 32nd percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 95 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 Brookston at the 32nd percentile, close to its 32nd-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 63.2% of Brookston's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 36.8% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 60 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Brookston against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Brookston's 32nd national percentile and its 38th percentile inside Minnesota, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Brookston ranks 21,553 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 29,270 by building count (1 is largest). Within Minnesota alone, it ranks 567 of 914 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Minnesota on its state page.
Brookston and the insurance market
Brookston's moderate rating (32nd 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 Brookston (63.2%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 95 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Brookston. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Brookston, see the exposure-zones guide.