Heron, MT
Heron, MT's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Heron at the 86th national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 284 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Heron's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 83rd percentile nationally.
Where Heron's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 89.4% of Heron's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 10.6% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 254 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Heron against the rest of the country
Heron's 86th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 64th ranking inside Montana does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 21 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Heron ranks 4,574 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,062 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 171 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
Heron and the insurance market
Heron's 86th-percentile, very high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Hardening a home in Heron
With 89.4% of Heron in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
Where Heron's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Heron's 4,574-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Heron's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.