Otranto, IA
Otranto wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Otranto at the 17th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 42 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Otranto at the 17th national percentile — 1 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
69.1% of Otranto's 42 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 29 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 31% are Minimal.
How Otranto compares
Otranto's risk sits at a similar level relative to Iowa (28th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (17th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Otranto ranks 26,026 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 31,110 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 731 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Otranto
At the 17th national percentile, Otranto 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
Otranto's 69.1% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Otranto's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 42 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Otranto. The exposure-zones guide covers what Otranto's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.