French Settlement, LA
French Settlement wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, French Settlement lands at the 29th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 830 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts French Settlement at the 30th percentile, close to its 29th-percentile risk score.
Where French Settlement's buildings actually sit
830 buildings are counted in French Settlement, and 85.4% 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.
How French Settlement compares
There's little gap between French Settlement's 29th national percentile and its 29th percentile inside Louisiana, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, French Settlement ranks 22,311 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 13,344 by building count (1 is largest). Within Louisiana alone, it ranks 347 of 488 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Louisiana on its state page.
French Settlement and the insurance market
French Settlement's moderate rating (29th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in French Settlement
With 85.4% of French Settlement 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 French Settlement's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 830 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for French Settlement. The exposure-zones guide covers what French Settlement's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.