Galena, IL
How exposed is Galena to wildfire?
USFS scores Galena at the 33rd national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 2,226 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Galena's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 35th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
79.9% of Galena's 2,226 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 20.1% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
How Galena compares
Within Illinois, Galena ranks higher (84th percentile) than it does nationally (33rd) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Galena ranks 21,044 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,870 by building count (1 is largest). Within Illinois alone, it ranks 226 of 1,445 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Illinois on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Galena
At the 33rd national percentile, Galena rates moderate 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
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Galena (79.9% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Galena's figures come from
Galena'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 Galena's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.