Eureka, SD
Eureka wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Eureka at the 62nd national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 799 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Eureka's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 57th percentile nationally.
Eureka's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS puts 88% of Eureka's 799 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 12% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Eureka against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Eureka's 62nd national percentile and its 51st percentile inside South Dakota, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Eureka ranks 12,077 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 13,646 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 216 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
Eureka and the insurance market
Eureka's high rating (62nd 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.
Hardening a home in Eureka
Eureka's 88% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Eureka's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 799 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Eureka. The exposure-zones guide covers what Eureka's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.