Willow Lake, SD
How exposed is Willow Lake to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Willow Lake lands at the 39th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 236 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Willow Lake's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 32nd percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Of Willow Lake's 236 counted buildings, 63.1% carry Direct exposure and only 36.9% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
How Willow Lake compares
Willow Lake ranks lower within South Dakota (13th percentile statewide) than its 39th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Willow Lake ranks 19,108 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 23,614 by building count (1 is largest). Within South Dakota alone, it ranks 384 of 439 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for South Dakota on its state page.
Willow Lake and the insurance market
Willow Lake's moderate wildfire rating (39th 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Willow Lake's 63.1% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Willow Lake's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 236 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Willow Lake. The exposure-zones guide covers what Willow Lake's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.