Neligh, NE
Neligh wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Neligh lands at the 70th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 1,133 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Neligh at the 65th national percentile — 5 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Neligh's buildings (92.9%) 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.
Where Neligh ranks
Neligh's risk sits at a similar level relative to Nebraska (69th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (70th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Neligh ranks 9,492 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,062 by building count (1 is largest). Within Nebraska alone, it ranks 184 of 583 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Nebraska on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Neligh's 70th-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Neligh's 92.9% 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 Neligh's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,133 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Neligh. The exposure-zones guide covers what Neligh's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.