Cayuga, ND
Cayuga wildfire risk explained
Cayuga's 64 buildings earn a 55th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Cayuga's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 51st percentile nationally.
Cayuga's building exposure, zone by zone
64 buildings are counted in Cayuga, and 93.8% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 6.3% rated Minimal.
How Cayuga compares
There's little gap between Cayuga's 55th national percentile and its 61st percentile inside North Dakota, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Cayuga ranks 14,343 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,517 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Dakota alone, it ranks 156 of 402 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Dakota on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Cayuga's elevated wildfire rating (55th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Cayuga (93.8%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Cayuga's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 64 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Cayuga. The exposure-zones guide covers what Cayuga's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.