Meckling, SD
Meckling wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Meckling at the 23rd national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 53 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Meckling's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 22nd percentile nationally.
Where Meckling's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 69.8% of Meckling's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 30.2% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
How Meckling compares
Meckling ranks lower within South Dakota (2nd percentile statewide) than its 23rd national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Meckling ranks 24,191 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,856 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 431 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
Meckling and the insurance market
Meckling's moderate wildfire rating (23rd percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 69.8% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Meckling gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Meckling's 24,191-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Meckling, see the exposure-zones guide.