Nelson, MN
Nelson wildfire risk explained
Nelson's 168 buildings earn a 48th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Nelson at the 46th national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Direct exposure dominates in Nelson: 48.8% of its 168 buildings, versus 11.9% Indirect and 39.3% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
How Nelson compares
Within Minnesota, Nelson ranks higher (71st percentile) than it does nationally (48th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Nelson ranks 16,355 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 26,101 by building count (1 is largest). Within Minnesota alone, it ranks 265 of 914 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Minnesota on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Nelson
At the 48th national percentile, Nelson rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Nelson's 48.8% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Nelson's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 168 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Nelson. The exposure-zones guide covers what Nelson's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.