California Junction, IA
How exposed is California Junction to wildfire?
USFS scores California Junction at the 66th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 66 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts California Junction at the 60th percentile, close to its 66th-percentile risk score.
California Junction's building exposure, zone by zone
66 buildings are counted in California Junction, and 89.4% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 4.6% in Direct exposure or the 6.1% rated Minimal.
California Junction against the rest of the country
California Junction's 89th-percentile standing inside Iowa outpaces its 66th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, California Junction ranks 10,808 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,415 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 110 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
California Junction's high rating (66th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
What would actually reduce this score
California Junction's 89.4% 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 California Junction's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 66 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for California Junction. The exposure-zones guide covers what California Junction's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.