Colton, WA
Colton, WA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Colton lands at the 4th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 297 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Colton's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 4th percentile nationally.
Colton's building exposure, zone by zone
Only 24.6% of Colton's 297 buildings carry Direct exposure and 0% carry Indirect; the remaining 75.4% are Minimal, which shifts the risk driving this page's score toward the surrounding landscape rather than any one structure.
Colton against the rest of the country
Colton scores 4th nationally and 0th within Washington — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Colton ranks 30,243 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 21,720 by building count (1 is largest). Within Washington alone, it ranks 627 of 628 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Washington on its state page.
Colton and the insurance market
Colton's low wildfire rating (4th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
What would actually reduce this score
Even with 75.4% of Colton outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where Colton's figures come from
Colton's 4th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Colton's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.