Collins, IA
Collins wildfire risk explained
Collins sits at the 3rd percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 340 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Collins at the 3rd percentile, close to its 3rd-percentile risk score.
Collins's building exposure, zone by zone
Only 12.1% of Collins's 340 buildings carry Direct exposure and 0% carry Indirect; the remaining 87.9% are Minimal, which shifts the risk driving this page's score toward the surrounding landscape rather than any one structure.
Collins against the rest of the country
Collins scores 3rd nationally and 5th within Iowa — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Collins ranks 30,635 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,571 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 964 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Collins and the insurance market
At the 3rd national percentile, Collins rates low for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Even with 87.9% of Collins 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 Collins's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 340 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Collins. The exposure-zones guide covers what Collins's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.