Laurel, IA
How exposed is Laurel to wildfire?
Laurel's 192 buildings earn a 30th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Laurel's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 30th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 88% of Laurel's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 12% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
Laurel against the rest of the country
Laurel scores 30th nationally and 45th 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, Laurel ranks 22,022 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,158 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 561 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Laurel and the insurance market
At the 30th national percentile, Laurel rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Laurel
Laurel's 88% Minimal-exposure share means structure-level hardening matters less here than it would elsewhere — still worth the low-cost basics, per the home-hardening guide.
Where Laurel's figures come from
Laurel's 30th-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 Laurel's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.