Vassar, MI
How exposed is Vassar to wildfire?
Vassar's 1,329 buildings earn a 10th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Vassar's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 11th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
38.2% of Vassar's 1,329 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 26.5% Direct and 35.3% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Where Vassar ranks
Within Michigan, Vassar ranks higher (36th percentile) than it does nationally (10th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Vassar ranks 28,284 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 9,933 by building count (1 is largest). Within Michigan alone, it ranks 485 of 745 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Michigan on its state page.
Vassar and the insurance market
Vassar's low rating (10th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
Vassar's 38.2% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Vassar's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,329 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Vassar. The exposure-zones guide covers what Vassar's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.