Ray, ND
Ray, ND's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Ray sits at the 16th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 635 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Ray at the 12th percentile, close to its 16th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
87.1% of Ray's 635 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 12.9% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
How Ray compares
There's little gap between Ray's 16th national percentile and its 4th percentile inside North Dakota, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Ray ranks 26,543 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,405 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Dakota alone, it ranks 386 of 402 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Dakota on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Ray
At the 16th national percentile, Ray rates low 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
Even with 87.1% of Ray 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 Ray's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 635 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Ray. The exposure-zones guide covers what Ray's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.