Lake Poinsett, SD
Lake Poinsett, SD's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Lake Poinsett lands at the 48th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 1,038 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Lake Poinsett at the 44th national percentile — 4 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 66.9% of Lake Poinsett's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 33.1% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
Lake Poinsett against the rest of the country
Lake Poinsett ranks lower within South Dakota (26th percentile statewide) than its 48th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Lake Poinsett ranks 16,400 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,673 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 325 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Lake Poinsett
At the 48th national percentile, Lake Poinsett rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Lake Poinsett's 66.9% Minimal-exposure share means structure-level hardening matters less here than it would elsewhere — still worth the low-cost basics, per the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,038 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Lake Poinsett. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Lake Poinsett, see the exposure-zones guide.