Blencoe, IA
Blencoe, IA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Blencoe sits at the 47th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 214 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Blencoe at the 46th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
76.6% of Blencoe's 214 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 23.4% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
How Blencoe compares
Within Iowa, Blencoe ranks higher (64th percentile) than it does nationally (47th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Blencoe ranks 16,696 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,331 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 363 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
Blencoe's elevated rating (47th 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 Blencoe
Even with 76.6% of Blencoe 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 Blencoe's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 214 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Blencoe. The exposure-zones guide covers what Blencoe's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.