Free Soil, MI
Free Soil, MI's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Free Soil lands at the 34th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 172 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Free Soil's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 33rd percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
59.3% of Free Soil's 172 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 102 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 40.7% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Free Soil against the rest of the country
Compare Free Soil's two percentiles: 85th within Michigan, only 34th nationally — a gap of 52 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Free Soil ranks 20,896 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,938 by building count (1 is largest). Within Michigan alone, it ranks 110 of 745 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Michigan on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Free Soil's moderate wildfire rating (34th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Free Soil (59.3%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Free Soil's figures come from
Free Soil's 34th-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 Free Soil's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.