Whalan, MN
How exposed is Whalan to wildfire?
Whalan's 92 buildings earn a 27th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Whalan at the 28th percentile, close to its 27th-percentile risk score.
Where Whalan's buildings actually sit
USFS puts 64.1% of Whalan's 92 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 35.9% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Whalan against the rest of the country
Whalan's risk sits at a similar level relative to Minnesota (33rd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (27th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Whalan ranks 22,886 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 29,406 by building count (1 is largest). Within Minnesota alone, it ranks 618 of 914 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Minnesota on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Whalan
Whalan's moderate wildfire rating (27th 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.
Hardening a home in Whalan
Whalan's 64.1% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 92 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Whalan. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Whalan, see the exposure-zones guide.