Shepherd, MT
Shepherd wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Shepherd at the 85th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 409 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Shepherd at the 87th national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Shepherd's building exposure, zone by zone
409 buildings are counted in Shepherd, and 69.2% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 29.6% rated Minimal.
Where Shepherd ranks
Shepherd ranks lower within Montana (64th percentile statewide) than its 85th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Shepherd ranks 4,602 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,052 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 173 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Shepherd
Shepherd's very high rating (85th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Hardening a home in Shepherd
Because Direct exposure dominates in Shepherd (69.2%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Shepherd's 85th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Shepherd, see the exposure-zones guide.