Montello, NV
Montello wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Montello lands at the 99th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 106 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Montello's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 99th percentile nationally.
Where Montello's buildings actually sit
Most of Montello's buildings (54.7%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Montello against the rest of the country
Montello scores 99th nationally and 92nd within Nevada — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Montello ranks 325 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 28,779 by building count (1 is largest). Within Nevada alone, it ranks 12 of 123 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Nevada on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Montello
Montello's 99th-percentile, very high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
What would actually reduce this score
Montello's 54.7% 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.
Where Montello's figures come from
Montello's 99th-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 Montello's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.