Bude, MS
Bude, MS's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Bude lands at the 79th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 578 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Bude's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 81st percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
52.1% of Bude's 578 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 47.9% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Bude against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Bude's 79th national percentile and its 78th percentile inside Mississippi, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Bude ranks 6,683 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,129 by building count (1 is largest). Within Mississippi alone, it ranks 92 of 420 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Mississippi on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Bude's 79th-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
What would actually reduce this score
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Bude (52.1% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Bude's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 578 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Bude. The exposure-zones guide covers what Bude's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.