Lake Wissota, WI
How exposed is Lake Wissota to wildfire?
Lake Wissota sits at the 29th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,586 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Lake Wissota's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 28th percentile nationally.
Where Lake Wissota's buildings actually sit
1,586 buildings are counted in Lake Wissota, and 64.6% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 18.5% rated Minimal.
How Lake Wissota compares
Compare Lake Wissota's two percentiles: 62nd within Wisconsin, only 29th nationally — a gap of 33 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Lake Wissota ranks 22,426 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,810 by building count (1 is largest). Within Wisconsin alone, it ranks 311 of 808 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Wisconsin on its state page.
Lake Wissota and the insurance market
Lake Wissota's moderate wildfire rating (29th 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
Because Direct exposure dominates in Lake Wissota (64.6%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Lake Wissota's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Lake Wissota's 22,426-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Lake Wissota's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.