Essex, IA
How exposed is Essex to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Essex at the 43rd national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 536 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Essex's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 42nd percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Essex rates 86.2% Minimal exposure against just 13.8% Direct and 0% Indirect — of 536 buildings counted, few sit close enough to burnable vegetation for USFS to flag them individually.
Where Essex ranks
Compare Essex's two percentiles: 59th within Iowa, only 43rd nationally — a gap of 16 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Essex ranks 18,021 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,777 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 415 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 43rd national percentile, Essex rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 86.2% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Essex gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Essex's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 536 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Essex. The exposure-zones guide covers what Essex's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.