Chamberlain, SD
How exposed is Chamberlain to wildfire?
Chamberlain sits at the 67th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,490 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Chamberlain's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 66th percentile nationally.
Where Chamberlain's buildings actually sit
Indirect exposure is dominant in Chamberlain (77.6% of 1,490 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 19% sit in the Direct zone.
How Chamberlain compares
Chamberlain's risk sits at a similar level relative to South Dakota (61st percentile statewide) as it does nationally (67th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Chamberlain ranks 10,502 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 9,211 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 172 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Chamberlain
Chamberlain's 67th-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
What would actually reduce this score
Chamberlain's 77.6% 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 1,490 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Chamberlain. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Chamberlain, see the exposure-zones guide.