Letcher, SD
Letcher wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Letcher at the 60th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 161 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Letcher's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 59th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
67.1% of Letcher's 161 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 108 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 32.9% are Minimal.
Letcher against the rest of the country
Letcher scores 60th nationally and 47th within South Dakota — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Letcher ranks 12,653 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 26,408 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 233 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Letcher
Letcher's elevated wildfire rating (60th 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 Letcher
Because Direct exposure dominates in Letcher (67.1%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Letcher's figures come from
Letcher's 60th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Letcher's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.