South Range, MI
South Range, MI's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
South Range's 441 buildings earn a 31st-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 Range's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 31st percentile nationally.
Where South Range's buildings actually sit
Most of South Range's buildings (85.7%) 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.
Where South Range ranks
Within Michigan, South Range ranks higher (83rd percentile) than it does nationally (31st) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, South Range ranks 21,837 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,436 by building count (1 is largest). Within Michigan alone, it ranks 125 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 Range's moderate rating (31st 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 South Range (85.7% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind South Range's 21,837-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond South Range, see the exposure-zones guide.