Alton, KS
How exposed is Alton to wildfire?
USFS scores Alton at the 54th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 150 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Alton at the 51st percentile, close to its 54th-percentile risk score.
Where Alton's buildings actually sit
92.7% of Alton's 150 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 7.3% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Where Alton ranks
Alton's risk sits at a similar level relative to Kansas (39th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (54th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Alton ranks 14,620 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 26,876 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kansas alone, it ranks 438 of 721 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kansas on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Alton
Alton's elevated rating (54th 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 Alton
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Alton (92.7% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Alton's figures come from
Alton's 54th-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 Alton's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.