Fayette, IA
Fayette, IA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Fayette lands at the 33rd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 604 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Fayette at the 34th national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Fayette's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS puts 81.1% of Fayette's 604 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 18.2% Direct and 0.7% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Fayette against the rest of the country
Fayette scores 33rd nationally and 48th within Iowa — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Fayette ranks 21,139 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,786 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 533 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
Fayette's moderate rating (33rd 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 Fayette
Fayette's 81.1% 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.
Where Fayette's figures come from
Fayette's 33rd-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 Fayette's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.