Essig, MN
Essig, MN's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Essig's 73 buildings earn a 14th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Essig's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 9th percentile nationally.
Essig's building exposure, zone by zone
Most of Essig's buildings (84.9% of 73) fall outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones entirely — that doesn't zero out the score above, it means the risk is regional, not structure-by-structure.
Where Essig ranks
Essig scores 14th nationally and 18th within Minnesota — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Essig ranks 26,984 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,177 by building count (1 is largest). Within Minnesota alone, it ranks 747 of 914 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Minnesota on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Essig
Essig's low wildfire rating (14th 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.
Hardening a home in Essig
Even with 84.9% of Essig outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where Essig's figures come from
Essig's 14th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Essig's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.