Cornell, WI
Cornell, WI's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Cornell at the 12th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 969 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Cornell's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 11th percentile nationally.
Where Cornell's buildings actually sit
56.1% of Cornell's 969 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 544 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 34.1% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 9.8% are Minimal.
Cornell against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Cornell's 12th national percentile and its 10th percentile inside Wisconsin, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Cornell ranks 27,752 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,165 by building count (1 is largest). Within Wisconsin alone, it ranks 728 of 808 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Wisconsin on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Cornell
Cornell's low wildfire rating (12th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Cornell (56.1%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Cornell's figures come from
Cornell's 12th-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 Cornell's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.