Hayes, LA
Hayes, LA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Hayes lands at the 60th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 538 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Hayes at the 63rd national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Hayes's building exposure, zone by zone
Of Hayes's 538 counted buildings, 71% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
How Hayes compares
Compare Hayes's two percentiles: 76th within Louisiana, only 60th nationally — a gap of 16 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Hayes ranks 12,574 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,748 by building count (1 is largest). Within Louisiana alone, it ranks 119 of 488 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Louisiana on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Hayes
At the 60th percentile nationally, Hayes carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Hayes's 71% 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 Hayes's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Hayes's 12,574-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Hayes's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.