Fosston, MN
Fosston, MN's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Fosston at the 53rd national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 1,076 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Fosston at the 49th national percentile — 4 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Fosston's buildings actually sit
Most of Fosston's buildings (47.7% of 1,076) 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.
Fosston against the rest of the country
Compare Fosston's two percentiles: 78th within Minnesota, only 53rd nationally — a gap of 25 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Fosston ranks 14,807 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,422 by building count (1 is largest). Within Minnesota alone, it ranks 200 of 914 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Minnesota on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Fosston
Fosston's elevated rating (53rd percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 47.7% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Fosston gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Fosston's figures come from
Fosston's 53rd-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 Fosston's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.