Iola, WI
Iola wildfire risk explained
Iola's 841 buildings earn a 34th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Iola at the 34th 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
841 buildings are counted in Iola, and 55.4% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 44.6% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
How Iola compares
Within Wisconsin, Iola ranks higher (80th percentile) than it does nationally (34th) — 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 20,753 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 13,248 by building count (1 is largest). Within Wisconsin alone, it ranks 164 of 808 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Wisconsin on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Iola
At the 34th national percentile, Iola 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 Iola
Iola's 55.4% 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
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 841 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Iola. The exposure-zones guide covers what Iola's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.