West Brule, SD
West Brule, SD's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
West Brule's 162 buildings earn a 77th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — well above the national norm 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 West Brule at the 76th percentile, close to its 77th-percentile risk score.
West Brule's building exposure, zone by zone
162 buildings are counted in West Brule, and 63.6% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0% rated Minimal.
West Brule against the rest of the country
There's little gap between West Brule's 77th national percentile and its 76th percentile inside South Dakota, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, West Brule ranks 7,194 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 26,356 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 108 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 77th percentile nationally, West Brule 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.
Hardening a home in West Brule
West Brule's 63.6% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where West Brule's figures come from
West Brule's 77th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what West Brule's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.