Harlowton, MT
Harlowton, MT's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Harlowton sits at the 58th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 944 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Harlowton at the 57th percentile, close to its 58th-percentile risk score.
Harlowton's building exposure, zone by zone
944 buildings are counted in Harlowton, and 91.4% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 8.6% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
Harlowton against the rest of the country
Inside Montana, Harlowton sits at just the 22nd percentile even though it scores 58th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Harlowton ranks 13,116 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,355 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 370 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Harlowton
Harlowton's elevated rating (58th 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
Harlowton's 91.4% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Harlowton's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Harlowton's 13,116-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Harlowton's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.