Pequot Lakes, MN
Pequot Lakes, MN's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Pequot Lakes at the 51st national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 1,800 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Pequot Lakes's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 49th percentile nationally.
Pequot Lakes's building exposure, zone by zone
1,800 buildings are counted in Pequot Lakes, and 73.1% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 1.8% rated Minimal.
Where Pequot Lakes ranks
Compare Pequot Lakes's two percentiles: 75th within Minnesota, only 51st nationally — a gap of 24 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Pequot Lakes ranks 15,539 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,059 by building count (1 is largest). Within Minnesota alone, it ranks 231 of 914 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Minnesota on its state page.
Pequot Lakes and the insurance market
Pequot Lakes's elevated rating (51st percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
With 73.1% of Pequot Lakes 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.
Where Pequot Lakes's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,800 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Pequot Lakes. The exposure-zones guide covers what Pequot Lakes's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.