Elliott, IA
Elliott wildfire risk explained
Elliott's 282 buildings earn a 35th-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 Elliott at the 33rd percentile, close to its 35th-percentile risk score.
Elliott's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS classifies 89% of Elliott's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 11% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
Where Elliott ranks
Elliott's risk sits at a similar level relative to Iowa (50th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (35th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Elliott ranks 20,511 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,115 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 513 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 35th national percentile, Elliott rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Elliott's 89% Minimal-exposure share means structure-level hardening matters less here than it would elsewhere — still worth the low-cost basics, per the home-hardening guide.
Where Elliott's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 282 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Elliott. The exposure-zones guide covers what Elliott's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.