Elwood, KS
Elwood, KS's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Elwood sits at the 58th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 921 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Elwood at the 56th national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Elwood's buildings actually sit
Most of Elwood's buildings (83.6%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Where Elwood ranks
Elwood scores 58th nationally and 49th within Kansas — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Elwood ranks 13,173 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,546 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kansas alone, it ranks 367 of 721 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kansas on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Elwood's elevated rating (58th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Elwood
Elwood's 83.6% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 921 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Elwood. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Elwood, see the exposure-zones guide.