Preston, IA
How exposed is Preston to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Preston at the 36th national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 655 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Preston's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 37th percentile nationally.
Where Preston's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 94.8% of Preston's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 5.2% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
How Preston compares
Preston's 52nd-percentile standing inside Iowa outpaces its 36th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Preston ranks 20,100 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,128 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 493 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Preston
At the 36th national percentile, Preston rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Even with 94.8% of Preston 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.
Where Preston's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Preston's 20,100-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Preston's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.