New Athens, IL
New Athens wildfire risk explained
USFS scores New Athens at the 18th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 1,136 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts New Athens at the 18th percentile, close to its 18th-percentile risk score.
New Athens's building exposure, zone by zone
94.1% of New Athens's 1,136 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 5.9% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
How New Athens compares
Within Illinois, New Athens ranks higher (57th percentile) than it does nationally (18th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, New Athens ranks 25,961 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,037 by building count (1 is largest). Within Illinois alone, it ranks 613 of 1,445 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Illinois on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
New Athens's low rating (18th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in New Athens (94.1% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where New Athens's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,136 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for New Athens. The exposure-zones guide covers what New Athens's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.