WildfireRiskFinder

Mauston, WI

Mauston wildfire risk explained

Moderate
26thpercentile nationally

USFS scores Mauston at the 26th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 2,034 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)

Separately from the risk score above, Mauston's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 27th percentile nationally.

Mauston's building exposure, zone by zone

2,034Total buildings
8.7%Direct exposure
85.2%Indirect exposure
6.2%Minimal exposure

Most of Mauston's buildings (85.2%) 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.

Where Mauston ranks

Within Wisconsin, Mauston ranks higher (53rd percentile) than it does nationally (26th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Mauston ranks 23,247 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,374 by building count (1 is largest). Within Wisconsin alone, it ranks 384 of 808 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Wisconsin on its state page.

Mauston and the insurance market

At the 26th national percentile, Mauston rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.

What would actually reduce this score

Because 85.2% of Mauston's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.

More on how this number was built

The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,034 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Mauston. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Mauston, see the exposure-zones guide.