Monterey, LA
How exposed is Monterey to wildfire?
Monterey sits at the 19th 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 417 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 Monterey at the 18th percentile, close to its 19th-percentile risk score.
Monterey's building exposure, zone by zone
417 buildings are counted in Monterey, and 76.3% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 1.7% rated Minimal.
Monterey against the rest of the country
Monterey's risk sits at a similar level relative to Louisiana (16th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (19th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Monterey ranks 25,686 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,880 by building count (1 is largest). Within Louisiana alone, it ranks 408 of 488 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Louisiana on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Monterey
Monterey's low rating (19th 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 Direct exposure dominates in Monterey (76.3%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 417 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Monterey. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Monterey, see the exposure-zones guide.