Burien, WA
Burien, WA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Burien lands at the 6th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 17,305 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Burien's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 6th percentile nationally.
Where Burien's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 96% of Burien's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 4% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one. At 17,305 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Burien against the rest of the country
Burien's risk sits at a similar level relative to Washington (4th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (6th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Burien ranks 29,644 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 827 by building count (1 is largest). Within Washington alone, it ranks 606 of 628 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Washington on its state page.
Burien and the insurance market
At the 6th national percentile, Burien rates low for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Burien's 96% Minimal-exposure share means structure-level hardening matters less here than it would elsewhere — still worth the low-cost basics, per the home-hardening guide.
Where Burien's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Burien's 29,644-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Burien's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.