Central Lake, MI
How exposed is Central Lake to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Central Lake at the 20th national percentile for risk to structures, among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a score built from 717 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Central Lake at the 20th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Central Lake's buildings actually sit
Most of Central Lake's buildings (68.3%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Where Central Lake ranks
Compare Central Lake's two percentiles: 66th within Michigan, only 20th nationally — a gap of 46 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Central Lake ranks 25,307 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 14,494 by building count (1 is largest). Within Michigan alone, it ranks 254 of 745 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Michigan on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Central Lake's low rating (20th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Central Lake
Because 68.3% of Central Lake's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Central Lake's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 717 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Central Lake. The exposure-zones guide covers what Central Lake's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.