Charlevoix, MI
How exposed is Charlevoix to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Charlevoix at the 13th national percentile for risk to structures, among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a score built from 1,906 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Charlevoix's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 13th percentile nationally.
Charlevoix's building exposure, zone by zone
Indirect exposure is dominant in Charlevoix (89.5% of 1,906 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 10.2% sit in the Direct zone.
How Charlevoix compares
Compare Charlevoix's two percentiles: 46th within Michigan, only 13th nationally — a gap of 33 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Charlevoix ranks 27,356 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,749 by building count (1 is largest). Within Michigan alone, it ranks 400 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
Charlevoix's low rating (13th 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 Charlevoix
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Charlevoix (89.5% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
Charlevoix's 13th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Charlevoix, see the exposure-zones guide.