South Gull Lake, MI
South Gull Lake, MI's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores South Gull Lake at the 18th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 1,035 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts South Gull Lake at the 19th percentile, close to its 18th-percentile risk score.
Where South Gull Lake's buildings actually sit
1,035 buildings are counted in South Gull Lake, and 63.5% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 19.2% rated Minimal.
Where South Gull Lake ranks
South Gull Lake's 61st-percentile standing inside Michigan outpaces its 18th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, South Gull Lake ranks 25,846 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,691 by building count (1 is largest). Within Michigan alone, it ranks 291 of 745 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Michigan on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
South Gull Lake's low wildfire rating (18th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
What would actually reduce this score
With 63.5% of South Gull Lake 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.
More on how this number was built
South Gull Lake's 18th-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 South Gull Lake, see the exposure-zones guide.