Montpelier, LA
How exposed is Montpelier to wildfire?
Montpelier sits at the 78th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 205 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Montpelier at the 79th national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Montpelier's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 84.9% of Montpelier's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 15.1% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 174 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Where Montpelier ranks
There's little gap between Montpelier's 78th national percentile and its 91st percentile inside Louisiana, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Montpelier ranks 6,997 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,661 by building count (1 is largest). Within Louisiana alone, it ranks 46 of 488 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Louisiana on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Montpelier
Montpelier's high rating (78th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Montpelier (84.9%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Montpelier's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Montpelier's 6,997-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Montpelier's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.