St. James, MN
St. James wildfire risk explained
USFS scores St. James at the 25th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 2,152 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. James at the 17th national percentile — 8 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where St. James's buildings actually sit
Only 6.3% of St. James's 2,152 buildings carry Direct exposure and 0% carry Indirect; the remaining 93.7% are Minimal, which shifts the risk driving this page's score toward the surrounding landscape rather than any one structure.
Where St. James ranks
St. James's risk sits at a similar level relative to Minnesota (29th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (25th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, St. James ranks 23,798 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,064 by building count (1 is largest). Within Minnesota alone, it ranks 651 of 914 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Minnesota on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in St. James
St. James's moderate rating (25th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in St. James
Even with 93.7% of St. James outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where St. James's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind St. James's 23,798-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what St. James's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.