Gates, OR
Gates wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Gates at the 74th national percentile for risk to structures, well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a score built from 350 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Gates's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 77th percentile nationally.
Gates's building exposure, zone by zone
73.1% of Gates's 350 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 256 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 26.9% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Gates against the rest of the country
Gates ranks lower within Oregon (58th percentile statewide) than its 74th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Gates ranks 8,199 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,316 by building count (1 is largest). Within Oregon alone, it ranks 178 of 420 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Oregon on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Because Gates is in Oregon, a wildfire-hazard disclosure is legally required before a sale closes here — unusual nationally, since only these two states mandate it. Full detail in the disclosure-law guide.
Hardening a home in Gates
Gates's 73.1% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Gates's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Gates's 8,199-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Gates's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.