Holton, KS
How exposed is Holton to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Holton lands at the 85th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 1,998 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Holton's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 86th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
52.5% of Holton's 1,998 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 15.3% Direct and 32.2% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Where Holton ranks
Holton scores 85th nationally and 84th within Kansas — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Holton ranks 4,891 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,484 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kansas alone, it ranks 115 of 721 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kansas on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Holton's 85th-percentile, very high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Hardening a home in Holton
Holton's 52.5% 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,998 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Holton. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Holton, see the exposure-zones guide.