Chelan Falls, WA
Chelan Falls, WA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Chelan Falls's 189 buildings earn a 96th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Chelan Falls at the 97th national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
54% of Chelan Falls's 189 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 102 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 45.5% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0.5% are Minimal.
How Chelan Falls compares
There's little gap between Chelan Falls's 96th national percentile and its 90th percentile inside Washington, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Chelan Falls ranks 1,213 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,301 by building count (1 is largest). Within Washington alone, it ranks 63 of 628 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Washington on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Chelan Falls
At the 96th percentile nationally, Chelan Falls carries the very 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.
What would actually reduce this score
With 54% of Chelan Falls in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
Where Chelan Falls's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 189 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Chelan Falls. The exposure-zones guide covers what Chelan Falls's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.