McLaughlin, SD
McLaughlin wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, McLaughlin lands at the 66th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 435 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts McLaughlin at the 65th percentile, close to its 66th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of McLaughlin's buildings (93.3%) 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 McLaughlin ranks
There's little gap between McLaughlin's 66th national percentile and its 60th percentile inside South Dakota, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, McLaughlin ranks 10,631 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,554 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 178 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 66th percentile nationally, McLaughlin 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because 93.3% of McLaughlin'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
McLaughlin's 66th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond McLaughlin, see the exposure-zones guide.