Washington, LA
How exposed is Washington to wildfire?
Washington's 608 buildings earn a 51st-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Washington at the 53rd percentile, close to its 51st-percentile risk score.
Washington's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS puts 71.6% of Washington's 608 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 28.5% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
How Washington compares
There's little gap between Washington's 51st national percentile and its 59th percentile inside Louisiana, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Washington ranks 15,597 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,715 by building count (1 is largest). Within Louisiana alone, it ranks 202 of 488 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Louisiana on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Washington's elevated rating (51st 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
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Washington (71.6% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Washington's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Washington's 15,597-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Washington's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.