Ferris, IL
How exposed is Ferris to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Ferris lands at the 5th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 179 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Ferris at the 5th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Ferris's buildings (94.4% of 179) fall outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones entirely — that doesn't zero out the score above, it means the risk is regional, not structure-by-structure.
Where Ferris ranks
Within Illinois, Ferris ranks higher (27th percentile) than it does nationally (5th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Ferris ranks 30,061 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,664 by building count (1 is largest). Within Illinois alone, it ranks 1,065 of 1,445 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Illinois on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Ferris's low wildfire rating (5th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Even with 94.4% of Ferris outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where Ferris's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 179 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Ferris. The exposure-zones guide covers what Ferris's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.