Wisdom, MT
Wisdom, MT's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Wisdom lands at the 80th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 236 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Wisdom at the 81st national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 53.4% of Wisdom's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 46.6% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 126 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Wisdom against the rest of the country
Inside Montana, Wisdom sits at just the 53rd percentile even though it scores 80th 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, Wisdom ranks 6,180 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 23,601 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 223 of 475 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Montana on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Wisdom's 80th-percentile, very high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Wisdom (53.4%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Wisdom's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Wisdom's 6,180-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Wisdom's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.