Wrangell, AK
How exposed is Wrangell to wildfire?
USFS scores Wrangell at the 9th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 1,571 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Wrangell at the 9th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Wrangell's buildings actually sit
58.4% of Wrangell's 1,571 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 918 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 38.6% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 3% are Minimal.
Where Wrangell ranks
Wrangell's risk sits at a similar level relative to Alaska (12th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (9th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Wrangell ranks 28,733 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,878 by building count (1 is largest). Within Alaska alone, it ranks 284 of 322 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Alaska on its state page.
Wrangell and the insurance market
Wrangell's low rating (9th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Wrangell
Because Direct exposure dominates in Wrangell (58.4%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Wrangell's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Wrangell's 28,733-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Wrangell's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.