The Lakes, MN
The Lakes wildfire risk explained
USFS scores The Lakes 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 1,195 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, The Lakes's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 20th percentile nationally.
Where The Lakes's buildings actually sit
Only 42.3% of The Lakes's 1,195 buildings carry Direct exposure and 0% carry Indirect; the remaining 57.7% are Minimal, which shifts the risk driving this page's score toward the surrounding landscape rather than any one structure.
Where The Lakes ranks
The Lakes's risk sits at a similar level relative to Minnesota (31st percentile statewide) as it does nationally (27th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, The Lakes ranks 23,167 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,676 by building count (1 is largest). Within Minnesota alone, it ranks 629 of 914 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Minnesota on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in The Lakes
The Lakes'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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Even with 57.7% of The Lakes 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 The Lakes's figures come from
The Lakes's 27th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what The Lakes's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.