White Lake, SD
How exposed is White Lake to wildfire?
USFS scores White Lake at the 61st national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 313 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, White Lake's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 61st percentile nationally.
Where White Lake's buildings actually sit
62% of White Lake's 313 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 36.1% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
White Lake against the rest of the country
White Lake scores 61st nationally and 50th 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, White Lake ranks 12,338 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 21,298 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 221 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
White Lake and the insurance market
White Lake's high rating (61st 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.
Hardening a home in White Lake
White Lake's 62% Minimal-exposure share means structure-level hardening matters less here than it would elsewhere — still worth the low-cost basics, per the home-hardening guide.
Where White Lake's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 313 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for White Lake. The exposure-zones guide covers what White Lake's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.