Elk River, MN
Elk River wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Elk River at the 55th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 9,398 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Elk River at the 54th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Elk River's building exposure, zone by zone
9,398 buildings are counted in Elk River, and 48.8% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 32.8% rated Minimal. At 9,398 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Where Elk River ranks
Elk River's 81st-percentile standing inside Minnesota outpaces its 55th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Elk River ranks 14,150 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 1,740 by building count (1 is largest). Within Minnesota alone, it ranks 179 of 914 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Minnesota on its state page.
Elk River and the insurance market
At the 55th national percentile, Elk River rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 48.8% of Elk River 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.
Where Elk River's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Elk River's 14,150-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Elk River's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.