Whitmore Lake, MI
How exposed is Whitmore Lake to wildfire?
USFS scores Whitmore Lake at the 20th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 3,465 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Whitmore Lake's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 22nd percentile nationally.
Whitmore Lake's building exposure, zone by zone
48% of Whitmore Lake's 3,465 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 30.2% Direct and 21.8% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Whitmore Lake against the rest of the country
Within Michigan, Whitmore Lake ranks higher (68th percentile) than it does nationally (20th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Whitmore Lake ranks 25,090 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 4,820 by building count (1 is largest). Within Michigan alone, it ranks 241 of 745 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Michigan on its state page.
Whitmore Lake and the insurance market
Whitmore Lake's moderate rating (20th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Whitmore Lake (48% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Whitmore Lake's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Whitmore Lake's 25,090-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Whitmore Lake's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.