WildfireRiskFinder

Lawton, IA

Lawton, IA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers

Elevated
59thpercentile nationally

Out of every US place USFS scores, Lawton lands at the 59th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 442 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)

Separately from the risk score above, Lawton's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 55th percentile nationally.

Where Lawton's buildings actually sit

442Total buildings
12.2%Direct exposure
0%Indirect exposure
87.8%Minimal exposure

USFS classifies 87.8% of Lawton's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 12.2% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.

Lawton against the rest of the country

Lawton's 82nd-percentile standing inside Iowa outpaces its 59th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Lawton ranks 12,856 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,416 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 180 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.

Lawton and the insurance market

At the 59th national percentile, Lawton rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.

What would actually reduce this score

Even with 87.8% of Lawton outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.

Where Lawton's figures come from

Lawton's 59th-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 Lawton's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.