Burlington, KS
Burlington wildfire risk explained
Burlington sits at the 78th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,856 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Burlington's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 74th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
60.5% of Burlington's 1,856 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 16.7% Direct and 22.8% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Where Burlington ranks
Burlington's risk sits at a similar level relative to Kansas (75th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (78th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Burlington ranks 7,086 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,888 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kansas alone, it ranks 180 of 721 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kansas on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Burlington's 78th-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because 60.5% of Burlington's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Burlington's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Burlington's 7,086-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Burlington's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.