Sheridan Lake, CO
Sheridan Lake wildfire risk explained
Sheridan Lake sits at the 72nd percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 144 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Sheridan Lake at the 69th percentile, close to its 72nd-percentile risk score.
Where Sheridan Lake's buildings actually sit
USFS puts 57.6% of Sheridan Lake's 144 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 42.4% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Where Sheridan Lake ranks
Sheridan Lake ranks lower within Colorado (40th percentile statewide) than its 72nd national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Sheridan Lake ranks 8,940 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,115 by building count (1 is largest). Within Colorado alone, it ranks 286 of 472 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Colorado on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 72nd percentile nationally, Sheridan Lake 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.
What would actually reduce this score
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Sheridan Lake (57.6% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Sheridan Lake's 8,940-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Sheridan Lake, see the exposure-zones guide.