Wildfires risk in Wyoming

You're standing in the driveway of a house near Buffalo, Wyoming, looking at the Bighorn Mountains. The grass is brown. The wind is blowing. And you're wondering if your insurance agent would actually pick up the phone if a fire started on the ridge. That's not a hypothetical. Wyoming's statewide wildfire risk is rated 5 out of 5 by the state's own hazard assessment. If you own a home here, especially in the wildland-urban interface, you need to know how fire behaves, what your policy really covers, and what to do first.

Why Wyoming looks like this

Wyoming has a lot of country that wants to burn. The Bighorn Mountains, the Wind River Range, the Medicine Bow Mountains, the Laramie Range, the Absaroka Range, the Wyoming Range, and the Black Hills all have heavy fuel loads. Then you have the grasslands and sagebrush of the Powder River Basin, the Red Desert, and the Thunder Basin National Grassland. A wet spring grows grass. A dry summer cures it. Add wind — and Wyoming has plenty — and you have a fire season that can start in June and run through October, sometimes later.

Most of the homes at risk are not deep in the forest. They're in the wildland-urban interface: subdivisions outside Casper, Cheyenne, Sheridan, Gillette, Rock Springs, Evanston, Laramie, and Cody. Places like Teton County, Park County, Fremont County, Sheridan County, Albany County, Carbon County, Uinta County, Sublette County, Lincoln County, Big Horn County, Washakie County, Hot Springs County, Converse County, Niobrara County, Weston County, Crook County, Campbell County, Johnson County, Platte County, Goshen County, and Laramie County all have pockets of risk. The Wyoming Office of Homeland Security and your county emergency manager track this. They issue evacuation notices. They don't sell insurance. That's on you.

Insurance gaps people miss

Here's the good news: standard homeowners insurance in Wyoming usually covers wildfire damage. Fire is a named peril on most HO-3 and HO-5 policies. So if embers ignite your roof, you're likely covered for the structure and your belongings.

The bad news is in the details. Many policies in high-risk areas have a separate wildfire deductible. It's often a percentage of your dwelling coverage — 1% to 5% — not a flat $1,000. On a $400,000 house, a 2% deductible is $8,000 out of pocket before insurance pays a dime. Some insurers add a wildfire surcharge or require you to clear brush as a condition of coverage. A few won't write new policies in certain ZIP codes at all.

Flood is excluded. That matters more than you think. After a fire, the soil can repel water. A summer thunderstorm on a burned slope can send mud and water through your front door. Your homeowners policy won't cover that. You need separate flood insurance, usually through the National Flood Insurance Program, and it typically has a 30-day waiting period. Wyoming does not have a state-run wildfire insurer of last resort. If the private market turns you down, you're looking at surplus lines or a specialized policy. Ask your agent directly: "If my house burns, what exactly is my deductible, and is there any sublimit for wildfire?"

A practical weekend plan

If you only do one thing this weekend, clear the pine needles and leaves out of your roof valleys and gutters. Embers are the main way houses ignite in a wildfire. They land in the gutter, smolder, and then the roof is gone. It takes an hour.

After that, work in zones. The first five feet around your foundation should be noncombustible: gravel, stone, or bare dirt. No bark mulch, no firewood, no propane tanks. Move anything flammable away from the walls. Screen your attic and crawlspace vents with 1/8-inch metal mesh. Close the vents during a fire if you can. Prune tree branches so the lowest limbs are at least 10 feet off the ground. Keep grass mowed short within 30 feet of the house. If you have a wooden fence attached to the house, consider replacing the last five feet with metal.

Have a go-bag ready. Sign up for your county's emergency alerts. Know two ways out of your neighborhood. The Wyoming Office of Homeland Security and Ready.gov have checklists. The US Forest Service has detailed defensible space guidance. None of this is glamorous. But it's what actually saves houses.

Questions we get

Does my Wyoming homeowners insurance cover wildfire damage?

Usually yes, because fire is a covered peril on most standard policies. But check your deductible — it may be a percentage of your dwelling limit, not a flat amount — and ask whether your insurer has a wildfire-specific exclusion or sublimit. If you're in a high-risk area like Teton County or the Bighorn Basin, your policy might have a separate wildfire endorsement with its own rules.

What should I do if I live in Teton County or another high-risk area?

First, call your insurance agent and get the wildfire deductible and coverage details in writing. Second, do the weekend cleanup around your house. Third, sign up for Teton County alerts or your local emergency notification system. Fourth, take photos of your home and belongings for a claim. Fifth, talk to your neighbors — fires don't stop at property lines.

Is wildfire risk getting worse in Wyoming?

Most fire scientists and land managers say yes, largely because of longer fire seasons, drought, and more homes built in the wildland-urban interface. The National Interagency Fire Center tracks national preparedness levels. The US Forest Service and Wyoming Office of Homeland Security both plan for more frequent and intense fires. That doesn't mean your house will burn. It means you should act like it could.

Official maps and agencies

Don't rely on a blog post — including this one. Check the primary sources for your county and your specific address.

• Wyoming Office of Homeland Security
• National Interagency Fire Center
• Ready.gov – Wildfires
• US Forest Service – Fire

Also contact your county emergency management office for local evacuation zones and wildfire risk maps. In Wyoming, that's often the fastest way to get a straight answer.