Sidney, MT
Sidney, MT's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Sidney at the 54th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 3,397 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Sidney's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 53rd percentile nationally.
Where Sidney's buildings actually sit
Most of Sidney's buildings (61.7% of 3,397) fall outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones entirely — that doesn't zero out the score above, it means the risk is regional, not structure-by-structure.
How Sidney compares
Inside Montana, Sidney sits at just the 18th percentile even though it scores 54th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Sidney ranks 14,470 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 4,922 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 392 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Sidney's elevated rating (54th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Even with 61.7% of Sidney outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where Sidney's figures come from
Sidney's 54th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Sidney's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.