Montezuma, IN
Montezuma wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Montezuma lands at the 13th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 750 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Montezuma's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 13th percentile nationally.
Montezuma's building exposure, zone by zone
87.7% of Montezuma's 750 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 12.3% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Montezuma against the rest of the country
Montezuma's 64th-percentile standing inside Indiana outpaces its 13th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Montezuma ranks 27,416 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 14,120 by building count (1 is largest). Within Indiana alone, it ranks 353 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
At the 13th national percentile, Montezuma rates low for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Montezuma
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Montezuma (87.7% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Montezuma's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Montezuma's 27,416-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Montezuma's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.