Wetonka, SD
How exposed is Wetonka to wildfire?
Wetonka sits at the 59th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 15 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Wetonka at the 59th percentile, close to its 59th-percentile risk score.
Wetonka's building exposure, zone by zone
Indirect exposure is dominant in Wetonka (53.3% of 15 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 46.7% sit in the Direct zone. This is a small settlement by building count — 15 total — so these shares describe a handful of structures, not a statistical average across thousands.
Where Wetonka ranks
Wetonka scores 59th nationally and 45th within South 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, Wetonka ranks 12,934 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 31,491 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 243 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Wetonka
Wetonka's elevated wildfire rating (59th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because 53.3% of Wetonka's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 15 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Wetonka. At 15 buildings, Wetonka is close to the size where USFS's data gets thin — the data-quality guide explains why 517 places nationally get no score at all.