Missouri Valley, IA
How exposed is Missouri Valley to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Missouri Valley at the 57th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 1,490 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Missouri Valley at the 55th percentile, close to its 57th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Missouri Valley's buildings (84.7%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
How Missouri Valley compares
Within Iowa, Missouri Valley ranks higher (78th percentile) than it does nationally (57th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Missouri Valley ranks 13,612 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 9,210 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 224 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Missouri Valley
At the 57th national percentile, Missouri Valley rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Missouri Valley (84.7% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Missouri Valley's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,490 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Missouri Valley. The exposure-zones guide covers what Missouri Valley's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.