Yakima, WA
How exposed is Yakima to wildfire?
Yakima's 35,287 buildings earn a 92nd-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Yakima's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 94th percentile nationally.
Where Yakima's buildings actually sit
73.6% of Yakima's 35,287 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 7.2% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself. At 35,287 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
Where Yakima ranks
Yakima scores 92nd nationally and 82nd within Washington — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Yakima ranks 2,632 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 304 by building count (1 is largest). Within Washington alone, it ranks 113 of 628 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Washington on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 92nd percentile nationally, Yakima carries the very high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Hardening a home in Yakima
With 73.6% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Yakima gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Yakima's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Yakima's 2,632-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Yakima's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.