Lakeview, MT
How exposed is Lakeview to wildfire?
Lakeview sits at the 77th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 45 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Lakeview's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 73rd percentile nationally.
Where Lakeview's buildings actually sit
45 buildings are counted in Lakeview, and 100% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0% rated Minimal.
Where Lakeview ranks
Lakeview ranks lower within Montana (48th percentile statewide) than its 77th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Lakeview ranks 7,221 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 31,046 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 247 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
Lakeview and the insurance market
Lakeview's 77th-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Hardening a home in Lakeview
Lakeview's 100% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 45 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Lakeview. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Lakeview, see the exposure-zones guide.