Elma, IA
How exposed is Elma to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Elma lands at the 19th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 433 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Elma at the 18th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Elma's building exposure, zone by zone
Elma rates 81.5% Minimal exposure against just 18.5% Direct and 0% Indirect — of 433 buildings counted, few sit close enough to burnable vegetation for USFS to flag them individually.
Where Elma ranks
Elma scores 19th nationally and 31st within Iowa — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Elma ranks 25,556 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,581 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 703 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 19th national percentile, Elma 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 Elma
With 81.5% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Elma gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Elma's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Elma's 25,556-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Elma's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.