Philip, SD
Philip wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Philip at the 78th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 563 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Philip at the 76th percentile, close to its 78th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
563 buildings are counted in Philip, and 90.9% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 9.1% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
How Philip compares
There's little gap between Philip's 78th national percentile and its 76th percentile inside South Dakota, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Philip ranks 7,096 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,366 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 105 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Philip
At the 78th percentile nationally, Philip carries the 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
Philip's 90.9% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 563 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Philip. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Philip, see the exposure-zones guide.