Whitlash, MT
Whitlash, MT's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Whitlash sits at the 50th 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 17 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 Whitlash at the 48th percentile, close to its 50th-percentile risk score.
Where Whitlash's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 100% of Whitlash's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 0% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 17 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most. This is a small settlement by building count — 17 total — so these shares describe a handful of structures, not a statistical average across thousands.
Whitlash against the rest of the country
Inside Montana, Whitlash sits at just the 13th percentile even though it scores 50th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Whitlash ranks 15,817 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 31,477 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 412 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Whitlash
At the 50th national percentile, Whitlash rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 100% of Whitlash 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 Whitlash's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 17 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Whitlash. Small places like Whitlash (17 buildings) are exactly where USFS's underlying data gets sparsest — see the data-quality guide for the 517 places that didn't clear the bar.