Tonasket, WA
Tonasket wildfire risk explained
Tonasket sits at the 98th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 643 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Tonasket's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 99th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS puts 91.8% of Tonasket's 643 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 8.2% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Where Tonasket ranks
Tonasket's risk sits at a similar level relative to Washington (95th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (98th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Tonasket ranks 678 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,291 by building count (1 is largest). Within Washington alone, it ranks 32 of 628 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Washington on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 98th percentile nationally, Tonasket carries the very 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 Tonasket
Because 91.8% of Tonasket's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Tonasket's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 643 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Tonasket. The exposure-zones guide covers what Tonasket's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.