Ovando, MT
Ovando wildfire risk explained
Ovando sits at the 95th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 172 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Ovando at the 95th percentile, close to its 95th-percentile risk score.
Ovando's building exposure, zone by zone
100% of Ovando's 172 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 172 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where Ovando ranks
There's little gap between Ovando's 95th national percentile and its 87th percentile inside Montana, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Ovando ranks 1,732 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,947 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 64 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Ovando's very high rating (95th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Ovando (100%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Ovando's 95th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Ovando, see the exposure-zones guide.