Santa Claus, IN
Santa Claus, IN's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Santa Claus lands at the 33rd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 1,339 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Santa Claus's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 35th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Direct exposure dominates in Santa Claus: 83.9% of its 1,339 buildings, versus 13.4% Indirect and 2.7% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Santa Claus against the rest of the country
Within Indiana, Santa Claus ranks higher (94th percentile) than it does nationally (33rd) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Santa Claus ranks 21,018 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 9,883 by building count (1 is largest). Within Indiana alone, it ranks 60 of 967 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Indiana on its state page.
Santa Claus and the insurance market
Santa Claus's moderate wildfire rating (33rd percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Santa Claus (83.9%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Santa Claus's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Santa Claus's 21,018-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Santa Claus's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.