Mermentau, LA
Mermentau wildfire risk explained
Mermentau sits at the 49th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 419 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Mermentau at the 51st national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Mermentau's buildings actually sit
USFS puts 81.2% of Mermentau's 419 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 18.9% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Where Mermentau ranks
There's little gap between Mermentau's 49th national percentile and its 55th percentile inside Louisiana, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Mermentau ranks 16,165 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,836 by building count (1 is largest). Within Louisiana alone, it ranks 218 of 488 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Louisiana on its state page.
Mermentau and the insurance market
Mermentau's elevated rating (49th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Mermentau
Mermentau's 81.2% 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 419 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Mermentau. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Mermentau, see the exposure-zones guide.