Kivalina, AK
Kivalina, AK's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Kivalina's 97 buildings earn a 39th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Kivalina's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 46th percentile nationally.
Kivalina's building exposure, zone by zone
81.4% of Kivalina's 97 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 4.1% Direct and 14.4% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Kivalina against the rest of the country
Kivalina's risk sits at a similar level relative to Alaska (30th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (39th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Kivalina ranks 19,087 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 29,159 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alaska alone, it ranks 226 of 322 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alaska on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Kivalina
Kivalina's moderate rating (39th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Kivalina (81.4% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Kivalina's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Kivalina's 19,087-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Kivalina's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.