Olin, IA
Olin wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Olin lands at the 52nd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 516 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Olin at the 51st national percentile — 0 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Olin's building exposure, zone by zone
78.3% of Olin's 516 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 21.7% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
How Olin compares
Within Iowa, Olin ranks higher (71st percentile) than it does nationally (52nd) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Olin ranks 15,278 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,087 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 300 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Olin's elevated wildfire rating (52nd percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
What would actually reduce this score
Olin's 78.3% 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 516 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Olin. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Olin, see the exposure-zones guide.