Zurich, MT
How exposed is Zurich to wildfire?
Zurich's 60 buildings earn a 69th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — well above the national norm for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Zurich at the 68th percentile, close to its 69th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
60 buildings are counted in Zurich, and 71.7% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0% rated Minimal.
Where Zurich ranks
Zurich ranks lower within Montana (37th percentile statewide) than its 69th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Zurich ranks 9,705 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,658 by building count (1 is largest). Within Montana alone, it ranks 299 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
Zurich's 69th-percentile, 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
Zurich's 71.7% 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 Zurich's figures come from
Zurich's 69th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Zurich's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.