Mount Vernon, SD
Mount Vernon, SD's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Mount Vernon sits at the 48th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 354 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Mount Vernon's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 47th percentile nationally.
Where Mount Vernon's buildings actually sit
Most of Mount Vernon's buildings (68.9% of 354) fall outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones entirely — that doesn't zero out the score above, it means the risk is regional, not structure-by-structure.
Mount Vernon against the rest of the country
Inside South Dakota, Mount Vernon sits at just the 25th percentile even though it scores 48th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Mount Vernon ranks 16,465 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,224 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 328 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon's elevated rating (48th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Mount Vernon
With 68.9% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Mount Vernon gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Mount Vernon's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Mount Vernon's 16,465-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Mount Vernon's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.