Columbia, SD
Columbia wildfire risk explained
Columbia sits at the 67th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 180 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Columbia at the 63rd national percentile — 4 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Columbia's buildings actually sit
61.7% of Columbia's 180 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 111 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 38.3% are Minimal.
How Columbia compares
Columbia scores 67th nationally and 60th within South Dakota — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Columbia ranks 10,503 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,650 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 173 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
At the 67th percentile nationally, Columbia carries the 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Columbia's 61.7% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
More on how this number was built
Columbia's 67th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Columbia, see the exposure-zones guide.