Soldier Creek, SD
How exposed is Soldier Creek to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Soldier Creek at the 86th national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 85 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Soldier Creek at the 86th national percentile — 0 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
Direct exposure dominates in Soldier Creek: 100% of its 85 buildings, versus 0% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Soldier Creek against the rest of the country
Soldier Creek scores 86th nationally and 86th within South Dakota — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Soldier Creek ranks 4,454 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 29,710 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 61 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Soldier Creek's very high rating (86th 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 Soldier Creek
With 100% of Soldier Creek in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
Where Soldier Creek's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 85 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Soldier Creek. The exposure-zones guide covers what Soldier Creek's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.