Marion, MT
How exposed is Marion to wildfire?
USFS scores Marion at the 86th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 827 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Marion at the 86th percentile, close to its 86th-percentile risk score.
Where Marion's buildings actually sit
827 buildings are counted in Marion, 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.
Marion against the rest of the country
Marion ranks lower within Montana (66th percentile statewide) than its 86th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Marion ranks 4,286 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 13,374 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 162 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
Marion and the insurance market
At the 86th percentile nationally, Marion carries the very 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 Marion
Because Direct exposure dominates in Marion (100%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Marion's 4,286-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Marion, see the exposure-zones guide.