Nespelem, WA
Nespelem, WA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Nespelem's 132 buildings earn a 98th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Nespelem at the 99th percentile, close to its 98th-percentile risk score.
Where Nespelem's buildings actually sit
93.2% of Nespelem's 132 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 6.8% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
How Nespelem compares
Nespelem's risk sits at a similar level relative to Washington (96th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (98th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Nespelem ranks 613 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,645 by building count (1 is largest). Within Washington alone, it ranks 25 of 628 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Washington on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Nespelem
At the 98th percentile nationally, Nespelem carries the very high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
What would actually reduce this score
Because 93.2% of Nespelem's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Nespelem's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 132 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Nespelem. The exposure-zones guide covers what Nespelem's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.