Wakonda, SD
Wakonda, SD's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Wakonda sits at the 40th 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 251 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Wakonda at the 38th national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Wakonda rates 58.6% Minimal exposure against just 41.4% Direct and 0% Indirect — of 251 buildings counted, few sit close enough to burnable vegetation for USFS to flag them individually.
Wakonda against the rest of the country
Wakonda's 40th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 13th ranking inside South Dakota does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 27 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Wakonda ranks 19,048 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 23,119 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 383 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
Wakonda and the insurance market
At the 40th national percentile, Wakonda rates moderate 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
Even with 58.6% of Wakonda outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where Wakonda's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 251 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Wakonda. The exposure-zones guide covers what Wakonda's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.