Churchill, MT
Churchill wildfire risk explained
Churchill sits at the 35th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 458 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Churchill at the 35th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Churchill's building exposure, zone by zone
Only 22.9% of Churchill's 458 buildings carry Direct exposure and 0% carry Indirect; the remaining 77.1% are Minimal, which shifts the risk driving this page's score toward the surrounding landscape rather than any one structure.
How Churchill compares
Churchill ranks lower within Montana (6th percentile statewide) than its 35th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Churchill ranks 20,455 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,104 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 446 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 35th national percentile, Churchill rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Churchill's 77.1% Minimal-exposure share means structure-level hardening matters less here than it would elsewhere — still worth the low-cost basics, per the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Churchill's 35th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Churchill, see the exposure-zones guide.