Epworth, IA
Epworth, IA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Epworth at the 19th national percentile for risk to structures, among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a score built from 811 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Epworth at the 19th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Epworth's buildings actually sit
Most of Epworth's buildings (81.3%) 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 Epworth ranks
There's little gap between Epworth's 19th national percentile and its 31st percentile inside Iowa, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Epworth ranks 25,647 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 13,542 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 707 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Epworth
At the 19th national percentile, Epworth rates low 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
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Epworth (81.3% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Epworth's figures come from
Epworth's 19th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Epworth's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.