Mizpah, MN
Mizpah, MN's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Mizpah sits at the 36th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 120 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 Mizpah at the 36th percentile, close to its 36th-percentile risk score.
Mizpah's building exposure, zone by zone
70.8% of Mizpah's 120 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 85 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 29.2% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Mizpah against the rest of the country
Mizpah's risk sits at a similar level relative to Minnesota (48th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (36th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Mizpah ranks 20,043 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 28,148 by building count (1 is largest). Within Minnesota alone, it ranks 478 of 914 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Minnesota on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Mizpah
Mizpah's moderate wildfire rating (36th 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Mizpah (70.8%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Mizpah's figures come from
Mizpah's 36th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Mizpah's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.