Elba, NE
Elba wildfire risk explained
Elba sits at the 62nd percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 221 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Elba's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 54th percentile nationally.
Where Elba's buildings actually sit
USFS puts 95.5% of Elba's 221 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 4.5% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Where Elba ranks
Elba scores 62nd nationally and 54th within Nebraska — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Elba ranks 12,103 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,085 by building count (1 is largest). Within Nebraska alone, it ranks 269 of 583 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Nebraska on its state page.
Elba and the insurance market
Elba's high rating (62nd 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
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Elba (95.5% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Elba's 12,103-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Elba, see the exposure-zones guide.