Gem, KS
Gem, KS's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Gem's 125 buildings earn a 32nd-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Gem's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 29th percentile nationally.
Where Gem's buildings actually sit
USFS puts 59.2% of Gem's 125 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 39.2% Direct and 1.6% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Where Gem ranks
Inside Kansas, Gem sits at just the 11th percentile even though it scores 32nd nationally — the state's overall wildfire exposure is high enough to make this a relatively quiet corner of it. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Gem ranks 21,524 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,939 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kansas alone, it ranks 642 of 721 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kansas on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Gem
At the 32nd national percentile, Gem 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
Gem's 59.2% 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 Gem's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Gem's 21,524-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Gem's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.