McGrath, AK
McGrath wildfire risk explained
McGrath's 280 buildings earn a 93rd-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, McGrath's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 92nd percentile nationally.
Where McGrath's buildings actually sit
USFS puts 73.6% of McGrath's 280 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 26.4% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
How McGrath compares
McGrath's risk sits at a similar level relative to Alaska (82nd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (93rd) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, McGrath ranks 2,099 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,175 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alaska alone, it ranks 60 of 322 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alaska on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in McGrath
McGrath's 93rd-percentile, very 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 McGrath
McGrath's 73.6% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where McGrath's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 280 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for McGrath. The exposure-zones guide covers what McGrath's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.