Snohomish, WA
Snohomish wildfire risk explained
Snohomish sits at the 21st percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 4,156 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Snohomish at the 21st national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Snohomish's buildings (71.2%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Snohomish against the rest of the country
Snohomish's risk sits at a similar level relative to Washington (32nd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (21st) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Snohomish ranks 24,885 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 4,097 by building count (1 is largest). Within Washington alone, it ranks 425 of 628 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Washington on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Snohomish's moderate rating (21st percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Snohomish (71.2% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Snohomish's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 4,156 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Snohomish. The exposure-zones guide covers what Snohomish's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.