LaCrosse, WA
How exposed is LaCrosse to wildfire?
USFS scores LaCrosse at the 88th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 348 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, LaCrosse's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 89th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Indirect exposure is dominant in LaCrosse (90.5% of 348 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 9.5% sit in the Direct zone.
How LaCrosse compares
There's little gap between LaCrosse's 88th national percentile and its 79th percentile inside Washington, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, LaCrosse ranks 3,828 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,383 by building count (1 is largest). Within Washington alone, it ranks 133 of 628 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Washington on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in LaCrosse
At the 88th percentile nationally, LaCrosse carries the very high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Hardening a home in LaCrosse
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in LaCrosse (90.5% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
LaCrosse's 88th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond LaCrosse, see the exposure-zones guide.