Lake of the Woods, IL
Lake of the Woods wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Lake of the Woods lands at the 10th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 1,051 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Lake of the Woods's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 11th percentile nationally.
Where Lake of the Woods's buildings actually sit
Indirect exposure is dominant in Lake of the Woods (68% of 1,051 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 9.2% sit in the Direct zone.
Where Lake of the Woods ranks
Within Illinois, Lake of the Woods ranks higher (44th percentile) than it does nationally (10th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Lake of the Woods ranks 28,262 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,590 by building count (1 is largest). Within Illinois alone, it ranks 809 of 1,445 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Illinois on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Lake of the Woods's low wildfire rating (10th 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Lake of the Woods's 68% 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.
More on how this number was built
Lake of the Woods's 10th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Lake of the Woods, see the exposure-zones guide.