Hermosa, SD
Hermosa, SD's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Hermosa at the 95th national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 310 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Hermosa's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 96th percentile nationally.
Hermosa's building exposure, zone by zone
Most of Hermosa's buildings (54.8%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Where Hermosa ranks
Hermosa scores 95th nationally and 98th within South Dakota — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Hermosa ranks 1,616 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 21,377 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 12 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
Hermosa and the insurance market
Hermosa's very high rating (95th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Hardening a home in Hermosa
Because 54.8% of Hermosa's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Hermosa's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 310 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Hermosa. The exposure-zones guide covers what Hermosa's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.