Metz, IN
Metz wildfire risk explained
Metz sits at the 16th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 56 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Metz at the 17th percentile, close to its 16th-percentile risk score.
Where Metz's buildings actually sit
62.5% of Metz's 56 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 37.5% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Metz against the rest of the country
Compare Metz's two percentiles: 71st within Indiana, only 16th nationally — a gap of 54 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Metz ranks 26,375 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,762 by building count (1 is largest). Within Indiana alone, it ranks 286 of 967 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Indiana on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Metz's low wildfire rating (16th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Hardening a home in Metz
Metz's 62.5% 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
Metz's 16th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Metz, see the exposure-zones guide.