White River, SD
How exposed is White River to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, White River lands at the 84th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 378 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 White River at the 83rd percentile, close to its 84th-percentile risk score.
White River's building exposure, zone by zone
93.9% of White River's 378 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 6.1% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
White River against the rest of the country
White River's risk sits at a similar level relative to South Dakota (85th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (84th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, White River ranks 5,025 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,704 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 69 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in White River
White River's very high rating (84th 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in White River (93.9% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where White River's figures come from
White River's 84th-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 White River's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.