Indianola, NE
Indianola wildfire risk explained
Indianola sits at the 42nd percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 479 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Indianola at the 42nd national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Indianola's buildings actually sit
Most of Indianola's buildings (93.3%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Indianola against the rest of the country
Indianola ranks lower within Nebraska (27th percentile statewide) than its 42nd national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Indianola ranks 18,220 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,728 by building count (1 is largest). Within Nebraska alone, it ranks 430 of 583 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Nebraska on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Indianola's elevated wildfire rating (42nd percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Indianola's 93.3% 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
Every one of the two percentiles behind Indianola's 18,220-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Indianola, see the exposure-zones guide.