Lake Leelanau, MI
How exposed is Lake Leelanau to wildfire?
Lake Leelanau's 185 buildings earn a 19th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Lake Leelanau at the 19th percentile, close to its 19th-percentile risk score.
Lake Leelanau's building exposure, zone by zone
Indirect exposure is dominant in Lake Leelanau (71.9% of 185 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 28.1% sit in the Direct zone.
Lake Leelanau against the rest of the country
Within Michigan, Lake Leelanau ranks higher (65th percentile) than it does nationally (19th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Lake Leelanau ranks 25,435 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,420 by building count (1 is largest). Within Michigan alone, it ranks 262 of 745 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Michigan on its state page.
Lake Leelanau and the insurance market
Lake Leelanau's low wildfire rating (19th 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.
Hardening a home in Lake Leelanau
Lake Leelanau's 71.9% 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 Lake Leelanau's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 185 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Lake Leelanau. The exposure-zones guide covers what Lake Leelanau's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.