Iola, IL
Iola wildfire risk explained
Iola sits at the 11th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 136 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Iola at the 11th percentile, close to its 11th-percentile risk score.
Where Iola's buildings actually sit
Indirect exposure is dominant in Iola (66.2% of 136 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 32.4% sit in the Direct zone.
How Iola compares
Within Illinois, Iola ranks higher (46th percentile) than it does nationally (11th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Iola ranks 27,946 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,434 by building count (1 is largest). Within Illinois alone, it ranks 787 of 1,445 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Illinois on its state page.
Iola and the insurance market
Iola's low rating (11th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
Iola's 66.2% 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 Iola's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Iola's 27,946-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Iola's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.