Newaygo, MI
How exposed is Newaygo to wildfire?
USFS scores Newaygo at the 38th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 1,010 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Newaygo's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 37th percentile nationally.
Where Newaygo's buildings actually sit
Indirect exposure is dominant in Newaygo (72.3% of 1,010 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 27.7% sit in the Direct zone.
Where Newaygo ranks
Newaygo's 89th-percentile standing inside Michigan outpaces its 38th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Newaygo ranks 19,604 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,858 by building count (1 is largest). Within Michigan alone, it ranks 83 of 745 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Michigan on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 38th national percentile, Newaygo rates moderate 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
Newaygo's 72.3% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,010 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Newaygo. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Newaygo, see the exposure-zones guide.