St. Lawrence, SD
St. Lawrence wildfire risk explained
St. Lawrence sits at the 55th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 197 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks St. Lawrence at the 54th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
St. Lawrence's building exposure, zone by zone
Only 37.6% of St. Lawrence's 197 buildings carry Direct exposure and 0% carry Indirect; the remaining 62.4% are Minimal, which shifts the risk driving this page's score toward the surrounding landscape rather than any one structure.
Where St. Lawrence ranks
St. Lawrence ranks lower within South Dakota (37th percentile statewide) than its 55th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, St. Lawrence ranks 14,291 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,979 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 278 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
St. Lawrence and the insurance market
St. Lawrence's elevated wildfire rating (55th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
What would actually reduce this score
With 62.4% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, St. Lawrence gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where St. Lawrence's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 197 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for St. Lawrence. The exposure-zones guide covers what St. Lawrence's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.