International Falls, MN
International Falls wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, International Falls lands at the 37th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 4,828 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 International Falls at the 35th percentile, close to its 37th-percentile risk score.
International Falls's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS puts 47.6% of International Falls's 4,828 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 8.6% Direct and 43.7% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
How International Falls compares
International Falls scores 37th nationally and 48th within Minnesota — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, International Falls ranks 20,012 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 3,536 by building count (1 is largest). Within Minnesota alone, it ranks 476 of 914 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Minnesota on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
International Falls's moderate wildfire rating (37th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
International Falls's 47.6% 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.
Where International Falls's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 4,828 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for International Falls. The exposure-zones guide covers what International Falls's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.