Metlakatla, AK
How exposed is Metlakatla to wildfire?
Metlakatla's 608 buildings earn a 7th-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 Metlakatla at the 7th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Metlakatla's buildings actually sit
608 buildings are counted in Metlakatla, and 68.4% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 30.9% in Direct exposure or the 0.7% rated Minimal.
Where Metlakatla ranks
Metlakatla's risk sits at a similar level relative to Alaska (8th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (7th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Metlakatla ranks 29,206 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,711 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alaska alone, it ranks 298 of 322 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alaska on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Metlakatla's low rating (7th 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 68.4% of Metlakatla's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Metlakatla's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 608 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Metlakatla. The exposure-zones guide covers what Metlakatla's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.