Busby, MT
Busby, MT's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Busby sits at the 98th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 312 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 Busby at the 99th percentile, close to its 98th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Direct exposure dominates in Busby: 76.9% of its 312 buildings, versus 23.1% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Busby against the rest of the country
Busby scores 98th nationally and 98th within Montana — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Busby ranks 726 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 21,320 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 13 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Busby's very high rating (98th 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.
Hardening a home in Busby
Because Direct exposure dominates in Busby (76.9%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Busby's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Busby's 726-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Busby's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.