Laurel, IN
How exposed is Laurel to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Laurel lands at the 21st percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 310 buildings, not the land around them. (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 22nd percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS puts 81.6% of Laurel's 310 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 18.4% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Laurel against the rest of the country
Compare Laurel's two percentiles: 82nd within Indiana, only 21st nationally — a gap of 61 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Laurel ranks 25,053 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 21,367 by building count (1 is largest). Within Indiana alone, it ranks 180 of 967 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Indiana on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Laurel's moderate rating (21st 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 Laurel
Laurel's 81.6% 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 Laurel's figures come from
Laurel's 21st-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 indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.