Peshtigo, WI
Peshtigo wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Peshtigo lands at the 32nd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 1,752 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Peshtigo at the 32nd percentile, close to its 32nd-percentile risk score.
Where Peshtigo's buildings actually sit
Indirect exposure is dominant in Peshtigo (72.4% of 1,752 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 27.5% sit in the Direct zone.
Peshtigo against the rest of the country
Compare Peshtigo's two percentiles: 71st within Wisconsin, only 32nd nationally — a gap of 39 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Peshtigo ranks 21,447 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,219 by building count (1 is largest). Within Wisconsin alone, it ranks 230 of 808 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Wisconsin on its state page.
Peshtigo and the insurance market
At the 32nd national percentile, Peshtigo rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Because 72.4% of Peshtigo'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 Peshtigo's figures come from
Peshtigo's 32nd-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 Peshtigo's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.