O'Neill, NE
O'Neill wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, O'Neill lands at the 61st percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 2,188 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, O'Neill's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 58th percentile nationally.
O'Neill's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS classifies 87.6% of O'Neill's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 11.1% Direct and 1.4% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
How O'Neill compares
O'Neill's risk sits at a similar level relative to Nebraska (53rd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (61st) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, O'Neill ranks 12,170 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,965 by building count (1 is largest). Within Nebraska alone, it ranks 272 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
O'Neill's high rating (61st percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Hardening a home in O'Neill
Even with 87.6% of O'Neill outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,188 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for O'Neill. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond O'Neill, see the exposure-zones guide.