Thorne Bay, AK
Thorne Bay, AK's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Thorne Bay at the 8th national percentile for risk to structures, among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a score built from 428 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Thorne Bay at the 8th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Thorne Bay's buildings actually sit
Direct exposure dominates in Thorne Bay: 70.3% of its 428 buildings, versus 28.5% Indirect and 1.2% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Where Thorne Bay ranks
Thorne Bay scores 8th nationally and 9th within Alaska — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Thorne Bay ranks 29,111 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,686 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alaska alone, it ranks 293 of 322 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alaska on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 8th national percentile, Thorne Bay rates low 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 Thorne Bay
With 70.3% of Thorne Bay in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
Where Thorne Bay's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Thorne Bay's 29,111-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Thorne Bay's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.