West Kootenai, MT
How exposed is West Kootenai to wildfire?
USFS scores West Kootenai at the 93rd national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally), a figure built from 454 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, West Kootenai's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 94th percentile nationally.
West Kootenai's building exposure, zone by zone
100% of West Kootenai's 454 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 454 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
West Kootenai against the rest of the country
West Kootenai's risk sits at a similar level relative to Montana (84th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (93rd) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, West Kootenai ranks 2,175 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,192 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 77 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
West Kootenai and the insurance market
West Kootenai's very high rating (93rd percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
What would actually reduce this score
With 100% of West Kootenai in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
Where West Kootenai's figures come from
West Kootenai's 93rd-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 Kootenai's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.