Knobel, AR
How exposed is Knobel to wildfire?
USFS scores Knobel at the 39th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 242 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Knobel at the 41st national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Knobel's buildings actually sit
USFS puts 81.4% of Knobel's 242 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 18.6% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Where Knobel ranks
Knobel ranks lower within Arkansas (18th percentile statewide) than its 39th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Knobel ranks 19,244 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 23,384 by building count (1 is largest). Within Arkansas alone, it ranks 504 of 614 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Arkansas on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Knobel's moderate wildfire rating (39th 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
Knobel's 81.4% 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 Knobel's figures come from
Knobel's 39th-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 Knobel's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.