Hills, IA
How exposed is Hills to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Hills at the 48th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 458 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Hills at the 48th percentile, close to its 48th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Hills rates 65.1% Minimal exposure against just 8.5% Direct and 26.4% Indirect — of 458 buildings counted, few sit close enough to burnable vegetation for USFS to flag them individually.
Hills against the rest of the country
Hills's 66th-percentile standing inside Iowa outpaces its 48th 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, Hills ranks 16,475 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,101 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 348 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 48th national percentile, Hills rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Even with 65.1% of Hills 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 Hills's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 458 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Hills. The exposure-zones guide covers what Hills's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.