Wisconsin Dells, WI
How exposed is Wisconsin Dells to wildfire?
Wisconsin Dells sits at the 36th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,856 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Wisconsin Dells at the 36th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Wisconsin Dells's buildings actually sit
1,856 buildings are counted in Wisconsin Dells, and 73.1% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 25.4% in Direct exposure or the 1.5% rated Minimal.
Wisconsin Dells against the rest of the country
Compare Wisconsin Dells's two percentiles: 84th within Wisconsin, only 36th nationally — a gap of 49 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Wisconsin Dells ranks 20,221 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,893 by building count (1 is largest). Within Wisconsin alone, it ranks 128 of 808 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Wisconsin on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 36th national percentile, Wisconsin Dells rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Wisconsin Dells's 73.1% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,856 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Wisconsin Dells. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Wisconsin Dells, see the exposure-zones guide.