Mer Rouge, LA
Mer Rouge wildfire risk explained
Mer Rouge's 361 buildings earn a 30th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Mer Rouge at the 30th percentile, close to its 30th-percentile risk score.
Where Mer Rouge's buildings actually sit
Mer Rouge rates 56.2% Minimal exposure against just 41.3% Direct and 2.5% Indirect — of 361 buildings counted, few sit close enough to burnable vegetation for USFS to flag them individually.
Mer Rouge against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Mer Rouge's 30th national percentile and its 30th percentile inside Louisiana, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Mer Rouge ranks 21,928 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,038 by building count (1 is largest). Within Louisiana alone, it ranks 341 of 488 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Louisiana on its state page.
Mer Rouge and the insurance market
At the 30th national percentile, Mer Rouge rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Mer Rouge
Even with 56.2% of Mer Rouge outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where Mer Rouge's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 361 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Mer Rouge. The exposure-zones guide covers what Mer Rouge's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.