Shafer, MN
Shafer wildfire risk explained
Shafer's 483 buildings earn a 41st-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Shafer's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 40th percentile nationally.
Shafer's building exposure, zone by zone
72.5% of Shafer's 483 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 27.5% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Shafer against the rest of the country
Shafer scores 41st nationally and 55th within Minnesota — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Shafer ranks 18,684 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,649 by building count (1 is largest). Within Minnesota alone, it ranks 408 of 914 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Minnesota on its state page.
Shafer and the insurance market
Shafer's elevated rating (41st 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 Shafer
Because 72.5% of Shafer's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Shafer's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 483 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Shafer. The exposure-zones guide covers what Shafer's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.