Chain-O-Lakes, MO
Chain-O-Lakes, MO's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Chain-O-Lakes lands at the 71st percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 89 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Chain-O-Lakes at the 73rd national percentile — 3 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Chain-O-Lakes's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS classifies 47.2% of Chain-O-Lakes's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 47.2% Indirect share and far above its 5.6% Minimal share — a profile where 42 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Chain-O-Lakes against the rest of the country
Chain-O-Lakes's risk sits at a similar level relative to Missouri (83rd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (71st) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Chain-O-Lakes ranks 9,265 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 29,535 by building count (1 is largest). Within Missouri alone, it ranks 180 of 1,062 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Missouri on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Chain-O-Lakes
Chain-O-Lakes's high rating (71st 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
Chain-O-Lakes's 47.2% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Chain-O-Lakes's figures come from
Chain-O-Lakes's 71st-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Chain-O-Lakes's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.