Elwood, NE
Elwood wildfire risk explained
Elwood's 611 buildings earn a 60th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Elwood at the 57th national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS puts 95.4% of Elwood's 611 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 4.6% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Elwood against the rest of the country
Elwood's risk sits at a similar level relative to Nebraska (50th 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, Elwood ranks 12,767 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,682 by building count (1 is largest). Within Nebraska alone, it ranks 294 of 583 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Nebraska on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Elwood
At the 60th national percentile, Elwood rates elevated 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
Elwood's 95.4% 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 611 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Elwood. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Elwood, see the exposure-zones guide.