Defiance, MO
How exposed is Defiance to wildfire?
Defiance sits at the 54th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 176 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Defiance's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 56th percentile nationally.
Defiance's building exposure, zone by zone
68.8% of Defiance's 176 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 121 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 31.3% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Defiance against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Defiance's 54th national percentile and its 41st percentile inside Missouri, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Defiance ranks 14,435 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,786 by building count (1 is largest). Within Missouri alone, it ranks 628 of 1,062 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Missouri on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Defiance
Defiance's elevated wildfire rating (54th 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
With 68.8% of Defiance 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.
More on how this number was built
Defiance's 54th-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 Defiance, see the exposure-zones guide.