Three Forks, MT
How exposed is Three Forks to wildfire?
USFS scores Three Forks at the 68th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 1,276 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Three Forks at the 68th percentile, close to its 68th-percentile risk score.
Where Three Forks's buildings actually sit
Most of Three Forks's buildings (96.3%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Three Forks against the rest of the country
Three Forks ranks lower within Montana (37th percentile statewide) than its 68th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Three Forks ranks 9,962 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,214 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 302 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 68th percentile nationally, Three Forks carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Hardening a home in Three Forks
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Three Forks (96.3% 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 1,276 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Three Forks. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Three Forks, see the exposure-zones guide.