Forreston, IL
Forreston wildfire risk explained
Forreston sits at the 3rd percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 970 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Forreston at the 3rd national percentile — 0 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
Only 9% of Forreston's 970 buildings carry Direct exposure and 0% carry Indirect; the remaining 91% are Minimal, which shifts the risk driving this page's score toward the surrounding landscape rather than any one structure.
Where Forreston ranks
Compare Forreston's two percentiles: 19th within Illinois, only 3rd nationally — a gap of 16 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Forreston ranks 30,597 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,151 by building count (1 is largest). Within Illinois alone, it ranks 1,168 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
At the 3rd national percentile, Forreston 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
Even with 91% of Forreston 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 970 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Forreston. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Forreston, see the exposure-zones guide.