Fortine, MT
Fortine wildfire risk explained
Fortine's 373 buildings earn a 98th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Fortine's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 98th percentile nationally.
Where Fortine's buildings actually sit
373 buildings are counted in Fortine, and 91.7% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0% rated Minimal.
Fortine against the rest of the country
Fortine scores 98th nationally and 97th within Montana — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Fortine ranks 790 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,808 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 18 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Fortine's 98th-percentile, very 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 91.7% of Fortine in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
Where Fortine's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Fortine's 790-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Fortine's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.