Helena Valley Northwest, MT
Helena Valley Northwest, MT's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Helena Valley Northwest lands at the 82nd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 2,680 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Helena Valley Northwest at the 78th national percentile — 4 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Helena Valley Northwest's buildings actually sit
Of Helena Valley Northwest's 2,680 counted buildings, 61.1% carry Direct exposure and only 1.9% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
How Helena Valley Northwest compares
Helena Valley Northwest's 82nd national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 56th ranking inside Montana does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 26 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Helena Valley Northwest ranks 5,835 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 5,962 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 213 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 82nd percentile nationally, Helena Valley Northwest carries the very 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Helena Valley Northwest (61.1%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Helena Valley Northwest's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,680 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Helena Valley Northwest. The exposure-zones guide covers what Helena Valley Northwest's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.