Monticello, IL
Monticello, IL's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Monticello at the 8th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 2,858 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Monticello's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 9th percentile nationally.
Where Monticello's buildings actually sit
USFS puts 74.9% of Monticello's 2,858 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 7.2% Direct and 17.9% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
How Monticello compares
Monticello's 39th-percentile standing inside Illinois outpaces its 8th 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, Monticello ranks 28,863 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 5,652 by building count (1 is largest). Within Illinois alone, it ranks 885 of 1,445 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Illinois on its state page.
Monticello and the insurance market
At the 8th national percentile, Monticello rates low 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
Monticello's 74.9% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Monticello's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Monticello's 28,863-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Monticello's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.