Harper, IA
How exposed is Harper to wildfire?
Harper sits at the 37th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 108 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Harper at the 37th 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
USFS classifies 93.5% of Harper's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 6.5% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
Where Harper ranks
Within Iowa, Harper ranks higher (52nd percentile) than it does nationally (37th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Harper ranks 19,847 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 28,693 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 485 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 37th national percentile, Harper rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Harper
Even with 93.5% of Harper 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 Harper's figures come from
Harper's 37th-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 Harper's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.