Upper Kalskag, AK
How exposed is Upper Kalskag to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Upper Kalskag at the 83rd national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 96 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Upper Kalskag's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 82nd percentile nationally.
Where Upper Kalskag's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 86.5% of Upper Kalskag's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 9.4% Indirect share and far above its 4.2% Minimal share — a profile where 83 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Where Upper Kalskag ranks
Upper Kalskag's 83rd national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 65th ranking inside Alaska does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 18 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Upper Kalskag ranks 5,470 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 29,213 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alaska alone, it ranks 114 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
Upper Kalskag's very high rating (83rd percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 86.5% of Upper Kalskag 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.
More on how this number was built
Upper Kalskag's 83rd-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Upper Kalskag, see the exposure-zones guide.