Adel, IA
How exposed is Adel to wildfire?
Adel sits at the 34th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 2,482 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Adel at the 34th national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Adel's building exposure, zone by zone
81.3% of Adel's 2,482 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 18.7% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
Where Adel ranks
Adel's risk sits at a similar level relative to Iowa (49th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (34th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Adel ranks 20,917 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,331 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 523 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Adel's moderate wildfire rating (34th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Even with 81.3% of Adel outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,482 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Adel. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Adel, see the exposure-zones guide.