Poulsbo, WA
Poulsbo wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Poulsbo at the 21st national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 4,420 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Poulsbo at the 22nd percentile, close to its 21st-percentile risk score.
Poulsbo's building exposure, zone by zone
88% of Poulsbo's 4,420 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 10.5% Direct and 1.5% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Poulsbo against the rest of the country
Poulsbo's risk sits at a similar level relative to Washington (33rd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (21st) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Poulsbo ranks 24,789 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 3,864 by building count (1 is largest). Within Washington alone, it ranks 420 of 628 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Washington on its state page.
Poulsbo and the insurance market
Poulsbo's moderate rating (21st percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Poulsbo's 88% 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.
Where Poulsbo's figures come from
Poulsbo's 21st-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 Poulsbo's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.