Ottosen, IA
Ottosen wildfire risk explained
Ottosen sits at the 3rd percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 61 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Ottosen at the 2nd national percentile — 0 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 Ottosen's buildings (86.9% of 61) fall outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones entirely — that doesn't zero out the score above, it means the risk is regional, not structure-by-structure.
Ottosen against the rest of the country
Ottosen's risk sits at a similar level relative to Iowa (4th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (3rd) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Ottosen ranks 30,737 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,617 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 977 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Ottosen
Ottosen's low wildfire rating (3rd 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.
Hardening a home in Ottosen
With 86.9% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Ottosen gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 61 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Ottosen. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Ottosen, see the exposure-zones guide.