WildfireRiskFinder

Peterson, MN

Peterson, MN's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers

Moderate
27thpercentile nationally

Peterson's 178 buildings earn a 27th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)

Separately from the risk score above, Peterson's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 27th percentile nationally.

Where Peterson's buildings actually sit

178Total buildings
28.7%Direct exposure
71.4%Indirect exposure
0%Minimal exposure

USFS puts 71.4% of Peterson's 178 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 28.7% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.

How Peterson compares

Peterson's risk sits at a similar level relative to Minnesota (32nd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (27th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Peterson ranks 22,975 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,716 by building count (1 is largest). Within Minnesota alone, it ranks 622 of 914 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Minnesota on its state page.

Shopping for coverage in Peterson

At the 27th national percentile, Peterson 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

With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Peterson (71.4% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.

More on how this number was built

Peterson's 27th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Peterson, see the exposure-zones guide.