Ames, OK
Ames wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Ames lands at the 54th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 207 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Ames's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 52nd percentile nationally.
Where Ames's buildings actually sit
73.4% of Ames's 207 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 26.6% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
How Ames compares
Inside Oklahoma, Ames sits at just the 6th percentile even though it scores 54th nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Ames ranks 14,475 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,616 by building count (1 is largest). Within Oklahoma alone, it ranks 784 of 834 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Oklahoma on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Ames
Ames's elevated wildfire rating (54th 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 73.4% of Ames 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.
Where Ames's figures come from
Ames'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 Ames's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.