Big Rock, IA
How exposed is Big Rock to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Big Rock at the 44th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 54 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Big Rock at the 45th national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
54 buildings are counted in Big Rock, and 74.1% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 5.6% rated Minimal.
Big Rock against the rest of the country
Within Iowa, Big Rock ranks higher (60th percentile) than it does nationally (44th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Big Rock ranks 17,772 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,809 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 411 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Big Rock and the insurance market
Big Rock's elevated rating (44th 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 Big Rock
Because Direct exposure dominates in Big Rock (74.1%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Big Rock's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Big Rock's 17,772-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Big Rock's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.