Sweetser, IN
How exposed is Sweetser to wildfire?
USFS scores Sweetser at the 1st national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 657 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Sweetser's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 1st percentile nationally.
Where Sweetser's buildings actually sit
82.7% of Sweetser's 657 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 17.4% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
How Sweetser compares
Sweetser scores 1st nationally and 6th within Indiana — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Sweetser ranks 31,272 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,098 by building count (1 is largest). Within Indiana alone, it ranks 918 of 967 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Indiana on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Sweetser
Sweetser's low wildfire rating (1st 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Even with 82.7% of Sweetser 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 Sweetser's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 657 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Sweetser. The exposure-zones guide covers what Sweetser's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.