Paradise, MT
Paradise wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Paradise lands at the 95th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 128 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Paradise's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 92nd percentile nationally.
Where Paradise's buildings actually sit
Indirect exposure is dominant in Paradise (79.7% of 128 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 20.3% sit in the Direct zone.
Where Paradise ranks
Paradise scores 95th nationally and 88th within Montana — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Paradise ranks 1,638 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,806 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 59 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
Paradise and the insurance market
Paradise'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.
What would actually reduce this score
Because 79.7% of Paradise'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 Paradise's figures come from
Paradise's 95th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Paradise's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.