St. Joseph, WI
How exposed is St. Joseph to wildfire?
USFS scores St. Joseph at the 27th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 245 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, St. Joseph's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 28th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Indirect exposure is dominant in St. Joseph (56.7% of 245 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 43.3% sit in the Direct zone.
St. Joseph against the rest of the country
Within Wisconsin, St. Joseph ranks higher (55th percentile) than it does nationally (27th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, St. Joseph ranks 23,026 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 23,320 by building count (1 is largest). Within Wisconsin alone, it ranks 365 of 808 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Wisconsin on its state page.
St. Joseph and the insurance market
St. Joseph's moderate rating (27th 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 St. Joseph (56.7% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where St. Joseph's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 245 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for St. Joseph. The exposure-zones guide covers what St. Joseph's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.