Velva, ND
Velva, ND's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Velva at the 50th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 754 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Velva's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 50th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
754 buildings are counted in Velva, and 85.9% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 14.1% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
Where Velva ranks
Velva's risk sits at a similar level relative to North Dakota (53rd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (50th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Velva ranks 15,703 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 14,083 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Dakota alone, it ranks 191 of 402 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Dakota on its state page.
Velva and the insurance market
Velva's elevated wildfire rating (50th 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
Because 85.9% of Velva'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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 754 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Velva. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Velva, see the exposure-zones guide.