Merlin, OR
Merlin wildfire risk explained
Merlin sits at the 98th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,360 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Merlin at the 98th national percentile — 0 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
76.3% of Merlin's 1,360 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 1,038 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 23.7% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where Merlin ranks
Merlin scores 98th nationally and 92nd within Oregon — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Merlin ranks 611 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 9,787 by building count (1 is largest). Within Oregon alone, it ranks 33 of 420 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Oregon on its state page.
Merlin and the insurance market
Because Merlin is in Oregon, a wildfire-hazard disclosure is legally required before a sale closes here — unusual nationally, since only these two states mandate it. Full detail in the disclosure-law guide.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Merlin's 76.3% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Merlin's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Merlin's 611-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Merlin's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.