Wales, WI
How exposed is Wales to wildfire?
USFS scores Wales at the 39th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 1,198 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Wales at the 41st national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 74.5% of Wales's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 24.5% Indirect share and far above its 1.1% Minimal share — a profile where 892 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Where Wales ranks
Wales's 91st-percentile standing inside Wisconsin outpaces its 39th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Wales ranks 19,243 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,656 by building count (1 is largest). Within Wisconsin alone, it ranks 78 of 808 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Wisconsin on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Wales
Wales's moderate rating (39th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Wales (74.5%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Wales's 39th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Wales, see the exposure-zones guide.