St. Francis, SD
St. Francis wildfire risk explained
USFS scores St. Francis at the 94th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 236 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks St. Francis at the 92nd national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where St. Francis's buildings actually sit
236 buildings are counted in St. Francis, and 80.1% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 19.9% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
St. Francis against the rest of the country
St. Francis's risk sits at a similar level relative to South Dakota (97th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (94th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, St. Francis ranks 2,026 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 23,613 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 15 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
St. Francis and the insurance market
St. Francis's very high rating (94th 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.
What would actually reduce this score
St. Francis's 80.1% 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 St. Francis's figures come from
St. Francis's 94th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what St. Francis's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.