Malden, WA
Malden, WA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Malden at the 75th national percentile for risk to structures, well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a score built from 201 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Malden's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 75th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Malden's buildings (75.6%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Malden against the rest of the country
Malden's risk sits at a similar level relative to Washington (72nd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (75th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Malden ranks 7,991 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,823 by building count (1 is largest). Within Washington alone, it ranks 174 of 628 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Washington on its state page.
Malden and the insurance market
At the 75th percentile nationally, Malden carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Hardening a home in Malden
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Malden (75.6% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Malden's 7,991-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Malden, see the exposure-zones guide.