Elkhorn, MT
Elkhorn, MT's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Elkhorn at the 98th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 58 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Elkhorn at the 95th percentile, close to its 98th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
100% of Elkhorn's 58 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 58 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
How Elkhorn compares
Elkhorn scores 98th nationally and 96th within Montana — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Elkhorn ranks 789 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,716 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 17 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Elkhorn
Elkhorn's very high rating (98th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
What would actually reduce this score
Elkhorn's 100% 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.
Where Elkhorn's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 58 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Elkhorn. The exposure-zones guide covers what Elkhorn's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.