Steele, ND
Steele wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Steele at the 41st national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 692 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Steele at the 40th national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
90.6% of Steele's 692 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 9.3% Direct and 0.1% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Where Steele ranks
Steele's risk sits at a similar level relative to North Dakota (28th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (41st) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Steele ranks 18,506 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 14,749 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Dakota alone, it ranks 291 of 402 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Dakota on its state page.
Steele and the insurance market
At the 41st national percentile, Steele rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Steele
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Steele (90.6% 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
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 692 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Steele. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Steele, see the exposure-zones guide.