Hudson, SD
How exposed is Hudson to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Hudson at the 54th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 253 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Hudson at the 52nd percentile, close to its 54th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
68.4% of Hudson's 253 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 31.6% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Where Hudson ranks
Inside South Dakota, Hudson sits at just the 36th percentile even though it scores 54th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Hudson ranks 14,415 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 23,061 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 280 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Hudson
At the 54th national percentile, Hudson rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Hudson's 68.4% 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 253 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Hudson. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Hudson, see the exposure-zones guide.