Buena, WA
Buena wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Buena lands at the 88th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 403 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Buena's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 90th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Direct exposure dominates in Buena: 50.4% of its 403 buildings, versus 0% Indirect and 49.6% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Buena against the rest of the country
Buena's risk sits at a similar level relative to Washington (79th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (88th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Buena ranks 3,827 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,162 by building count (1 is largest). Within Washington alone, it ranks 132 of 628 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Washington on its state page.
Buena and the insurance market
Buena's very high rating (88th 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Buena (50.4%), 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
Every one of the two percentiles behind Buena's 3,827-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Buena, see the exposure-zones guide.