Vida, MT
Vida wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Vida at the 53rd national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 55 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Vida's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 50th percentile nationally.
Where Vida's buildings actually sit
Of Vida's 55 counted buildings, 65.5% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Vida against the rest of the country
Vida's 53rd national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 16th ranking inside Montana does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 37 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Vida ranks 14,690 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,792 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 399 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
Vida and the insurance market
At the 53rd national percentile, Vida rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
With 65.5% of Vida 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.
Where Vida's figures come from
Vida's 53rd-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Vida's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.