Bell City, MO
Bell City wildfire risk explained
Bell City sits at the 30th 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 286 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Bell City's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 32nd percentile nationally.
Where Bell City's buildings actually sit
286 buildings are counted in Bell City, and 72.7% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 27.3% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
Bell City against the rest of the country
Bell City's 30th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 9th ranking inside Missouri does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 21 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Bell City ranks 21,967 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,010 by building count (1 is largest). Within Missouri alone, it ranks 963 of 1,062 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Missouri on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Bell City
Bell City's moderate wildfire rating (30th 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.
Hardening a home in Bell City
Bell City's 72.7% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Bell City's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Bell City's 21,967-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Bell City's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.