Elmo, MO
Elmo wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Elmo at the 60th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 126 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Elmo at the 61st national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Elmo's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 51.6% of Elmo's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 48.4% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
How Elmo compares
Elmo's risk sits at a similar level relative to Missouri (55th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (60th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Elmo ranks 12,675 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,898 by building count (1 is largest). Within Missouri alone, it ranks 479 of 1,062 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Missouri on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Elmo
Elmo's elevated rating (60th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Even with 51.6% of Elmo 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.
Where Elmo's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 126 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Elmo. The exposure-zones guide covers what Elmo's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.