Oral, SD
How exposed is Oral to wildfire?
Oral's 85 buildings earn a 92nd-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.)
Separately from the risk score above, Oral's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 93rd percentile nationally.
Where Oral's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 89.4% of Oral's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 10.6% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 76 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Where Oral ranks
Oral's risk sits at a similar level relative to South Dakota (96th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (92nd) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Oral ranks 2,463 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 29,709 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 20 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
Oral and the insurance market
At the 92nd percentile nationally, Oral 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
With 89.4% of Oral in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 85 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Oral. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Oral, see the exposure-zones guide.