West Fargo, ND
West Fargo, ND's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, West Fargo lands at the 43rd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 12,074 buildings, not the land around them. (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 Fargo at the 43rd percentile, close to its 43rd-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
95.9% of West Fargo's 12,074 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 4.1% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself. At 12,074 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
West Fargo against the rest of the country
West Fargo scores 43rd nationally and 31st within North Dakota — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, West Fargo ranks 18,127 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 1,291 by building count (1 is largest). Within North Dakota alone, it ranks 279 of 402 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for North Dakota on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 43rd national percentile, West Fargo rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Even with 95.9% of West Fargo 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
West Fargo's 43rd-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 West Fargo, see the exposure-zones guide.