Lake City, IA
Lake City, IA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Lake City lands at the 18th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 1,253 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Lake City's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 18th percentile nationally.
Where Lake City's buildings actually sit
75.7% of Lake City's 1,253 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 24.3% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
How Lake City compares
Lake City scores 18th nationally and 30th 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, Lake City ranks 25,742 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,331 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 715 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Lake City's low rating (18th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Lake City
With 75.7% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Lake City gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Lake City's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,253 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Lake City. The exposure-zones guide covers what Lake City's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.