South Prairie, WA
South Prairie, WA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
South Prairie's 211 buildings earn a 29th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, South Prairie's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 31st percentile nationally.
South Prairie's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS puts 75.4% of South Prairie's 211 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 24.6% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
South Prairie against the rest of the country
Compare South Prairie's two percentiles: 47th within Washington, only 29th nationally — a gap of 18 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, South Prairie ranks 22,425 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,460 by building count (1 is largest). Within Washington alone, it ranks 332 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
South Prairie's moderate rating (29th 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
South Prairie's 75.4% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where South Prairie's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 211 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for South Prairie. The exposure-zones guide covers what South Prairie's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.