Melvin, MI
How exposed is Melvin to wildfire?
Melvin's 117 buildings earn a 6th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Melvin at the 6th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Melvin's buildings actually sit
69.2% of Melvin's 117 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 81 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 30.8% are Minimal.
Melvin against the rest of the country
Melvin scores 6th nationally and 16th within Michigan — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Melvin ranks 29,631 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 28,307 by building count (1 is largest). Within Michigan alone, it ranks 628 of 745 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Michigan on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Melvin's low rating (6th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Melvin (69.2%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 117 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Melvin. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Melvin, see the exposure-zones guide.