Helena Valley Southeast, MT
Helena Valley Southeast, MT's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Helena Valley Southeast lands at the 57th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 5,568 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 Helena Valley Southeast at the 57th percentile, close to its 57th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
5,568 buildings are counted in Helena Valley Southeast, and 50.3% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 11.9% rated Minimal. At 5,568 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Helena Valley Southeast against the rest of the country
Helena Valley Southeast's 57th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 22nd ranking inside Montana does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 36 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Helena Valley Southeast ranks 13,426 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 3,095 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 372 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Helena Valley Southeast
At the 57th national percentile, Helena Valley Southeast rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Helena Valley Southeast (50.3%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 5,568 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Helena Valley Southeast. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Helena Valley Southeast, see the exposure-zones guide.