Makanda, IL
Makanda, IL's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Makanda's 449 buildings earn a 42nd-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Makanda at the 44th national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
96.2% of Makanda's 449 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 432 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 3.8% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
How Makanda compares
Makanda's 94th-percentile standing inside Illinois outpaces its 42nd 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, Makanda ranks 18,368 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,293 by building count (1 is largest). Within Illinois alone, it ranks 89 of 1,445 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Illinois on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Makanda
At the 42nd national percentile, Makanda 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
Makanda's 96.2% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Makanda's figures come from
Makanda's 42nd-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 Makanda's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.