Empire, MI
Empire, MI's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Empire at the 30th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 473 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Empire's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 30th percentile nationally.
Where Empire's buildings actually sit
Most of Empire's buildings (52.4%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
How Empire compares
Within Michigan, Empire ranks higher (82nd percentile) than it does nationally (30th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Empire ranks 22,156 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,826 by building count (1 is largest). Within Michigan alone, it ranks 137 of 745 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Michigan on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Empire
At the 30th national percentile, Empire rates moderate 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
Because 52.4% of Empire's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 473 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Empire. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Empire, see the exposure-zones guide.