Creston, IL
Creston wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Creston at the 1st national percentile for risk to structures, among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a score built from 352 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Creston's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 1st percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
94.3% of Creston's 352 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 5.7% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
Creston against the rest of the country
Creston scores 1st nationally and 11th within Illinois — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Creston ranks 31,129 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,259 by building count (1 is largest). Within Illinois alone, it ranks 1,293 of 1,445 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Illinois on its state page.
Creston and the insurance market
At the 1st national percentile, Creston rates low for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Creston
Even with 94.3% of Creston 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 352 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Creston. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Creston, see the exposure-zones guide.