Muddy, MT
Muddy, MT's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Muddy lands at the 98th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 274 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Muddy's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 99th percentile nationally.
Muddy's building exposure, zone by zone
Of Muddy's 274 counted buildings, 100% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
How Muddy compares
Muddy scores 98th nationally and 98th within Montana — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Muddy ranks 607 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,398 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 11 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Muddy
Muddy's 98th-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.
Hardening a home in Muddy
Because Direct exposure dominates in Muddy (100%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Muddy's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 274 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Muddy. The exposure-zones guide covers what Muddy's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.