South Hills, MT
South Hills, MT's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
South Hills sits at the 89th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 366 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks South Hills at the 84th national percentile — 4 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 South Hills: 97.5% of its 366 buildings, versus 2.5% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
South Hills against the rest of the country
South Hills scores 89th nationally and 74th within Montana — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, South Hills ranks 3,590 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,944 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 125 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in South Hills
South Hills's 89th-percentile, very high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Hardening a home in South Hills
With 97.5% of South Hills 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
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 366 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for South Hills. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond South Hills, see the exposure-zones guide.