Hidden Lake Colony, MT
Hidden Lake Colony wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Hidden Lake Colony lands at the 56th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 29 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Hidden Lake Colony at the 55th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS puts 82.8% of Hidden Lake Colony's 29 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 17.2% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
How Hidden Lake Colony compares
Hidden Lake Colony ranks lower within Montana (19th percentile statewide) than its 56th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Hidden Lake Colony ranks 13,965 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 31,370 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 385 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
Hidden Lake Colony and the insurance market
Hidden Lake Colony's elevated rating (56th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Hidden Lake Colony's 82.8% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 29 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Hidden Lake Colony. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Hidden Lake Colony, see the exposure-zones guide.