Ferguson, MO
Ferguson wildfire risk explained
Ferguson's 8,206 buildings earn a 45th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Ferguson's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 48th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Ferguson's buildings (95.6% of 8,206) 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. At 8,206 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Where Ferguson ranks
Ferguson's 45th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 24th ranking inside Missouri does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 21 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Ferguson ranks 17,368 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 2,044 by building count (1 is largest). Within Missouri alone, it ranks 807 of 1,062 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Missouri on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Ferguson
At the 45th national percentile, Ferguson rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Ferguson
With 95.6% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Ferguson gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Ferguson's figures come from
Ferguson's 45th-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 Ferguson's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.