Kimball, NE
Kimball wildfire risk explained
Kimball sits at the 71st percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,959 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Kimball's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 69th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS puts 82.8% of Kimball's 1,959 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 17.2% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Kimball against the rest of the country
Kimball's risk sits at a similar level relative to Nebraska (71st percentile statewide) as it does nationally (71st) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Kimball ranks 9,234 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,591 by building count (1 is largest). Within Nebraska alone, it ranks 169 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
At the 71st percentile nationally, Kimball carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Hardening a home in Kimball
Because 82.8% of Kimball's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Kimball's figures come from
Kimball's 71st-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Kimball's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.