Franklin, IA
Franklin wildfire risk explained
Franklin's 118 buildings earn a 58th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Franklin at the 61st percentile, close to its 58th-percentile risk score.
Franklin's building exposure, zone by zone
Indirect exposure is dominant in Franklin (62.7% of 118 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 37.3% sit in the Direct zone.
How Franklin compares
Franklin's 81st-percentile standing inside Iowa outpaces its 58th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Franklin ranks 13,138 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 28,240 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 191 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Franklin and the insurance market
Franklin's elevated rating (58th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
Franklin's 62.7% 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 Franklin's figures come from
Franklin's 58th-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 Franklin's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.