McCook, NE
How exposed is McCook to wildfire?
McCook's 4,587 buildings earn a 37th-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.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks McCook at the 36th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
McCook's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS puts 96.3% of McCook's 4,587 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 3.7% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
McCook against the rest of the country
McCook's 37th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 21st ranking inside Nebraska does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 16 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, McCook ranks 19,823 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 3,715 by building count (1 is largest). Within Nebraska alone, it ranks 461 of 583 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Nebraska on its state page.
McCook and the insurance market
McCook's moderate rating (37th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in McCook (96.3% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where McCook's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 4,587 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for McCook. The exposure-zones guide covers what McCook's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.