Fort Polk South, LA
Fort Polk South wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Fort Polk South at the 75th national percentile for risk to structures, well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a score built from 1,665 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Fort Polk South's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 78th percentile nationally.
Fort Polk South's building exposure, zone by zone
Indirect exposure is dominant in Fort Polk South (82.8% of 1,665 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 15.1% sit in the Direct zone.
Fort Polk South against the rest of the country
Fort Polk South scores 75th nationally and 89th within Louisiana — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Fort Polk South ranks 7,788 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,539 by building count (1 is largest). Within Louisiana alone, it ranks 54 of 488 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Louisiana on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Fort Polk South's 75th-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Hardening a home in Fort Polk South
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Fort Polk South (82.8% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Fort Polk South's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,665 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Fort Polk South. The exposure-zones guide covers what Fort Polk South's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.