Vanderbilt, MI
How exposed is Vanderbilt to wildfire?
Vanderbilt sits at the 34th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 343 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Vanderbilt at the 33rd national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Vanderbilt's buildings actually sit
Indirect exposure is dominant in Vanderbilt (59.8% of 343 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 40.2% sit in the Direct zone.
How Vanderbilt compares
Within Michigan, Vanderbilt ranks higher (85th percentile) than it does nationally (34th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Vanderbilt ranks 20,925 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,488 by building count (1 is largest). Within Michigan alone, it ranks 112 of 745 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Michigan on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Vanderbilt's moderate wildfire rating (34th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Vanderbilt (59.8% 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
Vanderbilt's 34th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Vanderbilt, see the exposure-zones guide.