Forestburg, SD
How exposed is Forestburg to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Forestburg at the 81st national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 73 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Forestburg's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 80th percentile nationally.
Where Forestburg's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 83.6% of Forestburg's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 16.4% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 61 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
How Forestburg compares
There's little gap between Forestburg's 81st national percentile and its 81st 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, Forestburg ranks 5,905 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,192 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 83 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 81st percentile nationally, Forestburg carries the very high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Forestburg's 83.6% 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 Forestburg's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Forestburg's 5,905-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Forestburg's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.