Colome, SD
Colome wildfire risk explained
Colome's 255 buildings earn a 49th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Colome at the 44th percentile, close to its 49th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 89.4% of Colome's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 10.6% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
Colome against the rest of the country
Colome ranks lower within South Dakota (28th percentile statewide) than its 49th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Colome ranks 15,953 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,993 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 313 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Colome's elevated rating (49th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
Colome's 89.4% 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.
Where Colome's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 255 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Colome. The exposure-zones guide covers what Colome's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.