Reserve, MT
Reserve, MT's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Reserve at the 77th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 66 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Reserve at the 77th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Reserve's buildings actually sit
66 buildings are counted in Reserve, and 57.6% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 42.4% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
Reserve against the rest of the country
Reserve's 77th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 48th ranking inside Montana does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 29 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Reserve ranks 7,282 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,434 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 250 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Reserve
At the 77th percentile nationally, Reserve 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Reserve's 57.6% 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 Reserve's figures come from
Reserve's 77th-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 Reserve's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.