Rhinelander, WI
Rhinelander wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Rhinelander at the 13th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 4,362 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Rhinelander at the 12th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Rhinelander's buildings actually sit
73% of Rhinelander's 4,362 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 20.1% Direct and 7% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Where Rhinelander ranks
Rhinelander scores 13th nationally and 13th within Wisconsin — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Rhinelander ranks 27,406 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 3,921 by building count (1 is largest). Within Wisconsin alone, it ranks 707 of 808 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Wisconsin on its state page.
Rhinelander and the insurance market
Rhinelander's low rating (13th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Rhinelander
Rhinelander's 73% 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 Rhinelander's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Rhinelander's 27,406-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Rhinelander's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.