Medicine Bow, WY
How exposed is Medicine Bow to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Medicine Bow lands at the 54th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 331 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Medicine Bow's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 48th percentile nationally.
Where Medicine Bow's buildings actually sit
77.6% of Medicine Bow's 331 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 22.4% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Medicine Bow against the rest of the country
Medicine Bow's 54th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 11th ranking inside Wyoming does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 43 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Medicine Bow ranks 14,578 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,810 by building count (1 is largest). Within Wyoming alone, it ranks 172 of 192 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Wyoming on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Medicine Bow
At the 54th national percentile, Medicine Bow rates elevated 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
Medicine Bow's 77.6% 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 331 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Medicine Bow. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Medicine Bow, see the exposure-zones guide.