Lewis, IA
How exposed is Lewis to wildfire?
Lewis sits at the 60th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 317 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Lewis at the 60th percentile, close to its 60th-percentile risk score.
Where Lewis's buildings actually sit
86.4% of Lewis's 317 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 13.6% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
Where Lewis ranks
Lewis's 84th-percentile standing inside Iowa outpaces its 60th 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, Lewis ranks 12,479 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 21,177 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 166 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
Lewis's high rating (60th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
What would actually reduce this score
Even with 86.4% of Lewis 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 Lewis's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Lewis's 12,479-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Lewis's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.