Elk Run Heights, IA
How exposed is Elk Run Heights to wildfire?
Elk Run Heights's 729 buildings earn a 37th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Elk Run Heights at the 38th percentile, close to its 37th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
87.9% of Elk Run Heights's 729 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 12.1% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
Elk Run Heights against the rest of the country
Within Iowa, Elk Run Heights ranks higher (53rd percentile) than it does nationally (37th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Elk Run Heights ranks 19,783 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 14,348 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 484 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 37th national percentile, Elk Run Heights rates moderate 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 Elk Run Heights
With 87.9% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Elk Run Heights gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Elk Run Heights's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Elk Run Heights's 19,783-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Elk Run Heights's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.