Waldo, AR
Waldo, AR's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Waldo sits at the 62nd percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 847 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Waldo's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 63rd percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Waldo's buildings (56.2%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Waldo against the rest of the country
Waldo's 62nd national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 45th ranking inside Arkansas does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 17 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Waldo ranks 11,939 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 13,186 by building count (1 is largest). Within Arkansas alone, it ranks 337 of 614 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Arkansas on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Waldo
At the 62nd percentile nationally, Waldo carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
What would actually reduce this score
Waldo's 56.2% 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.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Waldo's 11,939-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Waldo, see the exposure-zones guide.