Waltham, MN
How exposed is Waltham to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Waltham at the 2nd national percentile for risk to structures, among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a score built from 135 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Waltham at the 2nd national percentile — 0 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Waltham's buildings actually sit
Most of Waltham's buildings (83% of 135) fall outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones entirely — that doesn't zero out the score above, it means the risk is regional, not structure-by-structure.
Where Waltham ranks
Waltham's risk sits at a similar level relative to Minnesota (2nd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (2nd) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Waltham ranks 30,865 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,496 by building count (1 is largest). Within Minnesota alone, it ranks 894 of 914 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Minnesota on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Waltham's low rating (2nd percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
Even with 83% of Waltham 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.
More on how this number was built
Waltham's 2nd-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Waltham, see the exposure-zones guide.