Petersburg, MI
Petersburg, MI's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Petersburg's 621 buildings earn a 8th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Petersburg's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 8th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
89.2% of Petersburg's 621 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 10.8% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
Petersburg against the rest of the country
Compare Petersburg's two percentiles: 25th within Michigan, only 8th nationally — a gap of 17 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Petersburg ranks 28,909 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,543 by building count (1 is largest). Within Michigan alone, it ranks 557 of 745 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Michigan on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Petersburg's low wildfire rating (8th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Hardening a home in Petersburg
Even with 89.2% of Petersburg outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where Petersburg's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 621 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Petersburg. The exposure-zones guide covers what Petersburg's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.