Payette, ID
Payette, ID's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Payette lands at the 87th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 3,660 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Payette's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 89th percentile nationally.
Where Payette's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 42.1% of Payette's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 20.6% Direct and 37.3% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
How Payette compares
Inside Idaho, Payette sits at just the 61st percentile even though it scores 87th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Payette ranks 4,062 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 4,573 by building count (1 is largest). Within Idaho alone, it ranks 91 of 232 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Idaho on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Payette
At the 87th percentile nationally, Payette 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 42.1% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Payette gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Payette's figures come from
Payette's 87th-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 Payette's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.