Challis, ID
Challis, ID's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Challis lands at the 72nd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 884 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Challis at the 70th percentile, close to its 72nd-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
884 buildings are counted in Challis, and 83.3% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 16.7% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
How Challis compares
Inside Idaho, Challis sits at just the 39th percentile even though it scores 72nd nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Challis ranks 8,853 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,869 by building count (1 is largest). Within Idaho alone, it ranks 143 of 232 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Idaho on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 72nd percentile nationally, Challis carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Hardening a home in Challis
Challis's 83.3% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 884 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Challis. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Challis, see the exposure-zones guide.