Kensett, IA
Kensett wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Kensett lands at the 13th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 214 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Kensett at the 11th national percentile — 3 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Kensett's building exposure, zone by zone
Kensett rates 80.8% Minimal exposure against just 19.2% Direct and 0% Indirect — of 214 buildings counted, few sit close enough to burnable vegetation for USFS to flag them individually.
Where Kensett ranks
Kensett scores 13th nationally and 23rd within Iowa — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Kensett ranks 27,322 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,334 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 780 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Kensett
Kensett's low wildfire rating (13th 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.
Hardening a home in Kensett
Even with 80.8% of Kensett 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 Kensett's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 214 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Kensett. The exposure-zones guide covers what Kensett's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.