Othello, WA
Othello wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Othello at the 90th national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 2,683 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Othello at the 91st percentile, close to its 90th-percentile risk score.
Where Othello's buildings actually sit
49.8% of Othello's 2,683 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 2.3% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
Othello against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Othello's 90th national percentile and its 80th percentile inside Washington, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Othello ranks 3,230 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 5,960 by building count (1 is largest). Within Washington alone, it ranks 126 of 628 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Washington on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Othello
At the 90th percentile nationally, Othello 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
Even with 49.8% of Othello outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where Othello's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Othello's 3,230-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Othello's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.