Lakes West, CT
Lakes West wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Lakes West at the 41st national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 1,024 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Lakes West's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 40th percentile nationally.
Lakes West's building exposure, zone by zone
100% of Lakes West's 1,024 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 1,024 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Lakes West against the rest of the country
Compare Lakes West's two percentiles: 85th within Connecticut, only 41st nationally — a gap of 43 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Lakes West ranks 18,489 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,767 by building count (1 is largest). Within Connecticut alone, it ranks 34 of 214 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Connecticut on its state page.
Lakes West and the insurance market
Lakes West's elevated rating (41st 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 100% of Lakes West in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,024 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Lakes West. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Lakes West, see the exposure-zones guide.