Preston, KS
How exposed is Preston to wildfire?
USFS scores Preston at the 65th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 156 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (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 56th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 72.4% of Preston's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 27.6% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
Where Preston ranks
Preston's risk sits at a similar level relative to Kansas (59th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (65th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Preston ranks 11,157 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 26,618 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kansas alone, it ranks 296 of 721 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kansas on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 65th percentile nationally, Preston carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
What would actually reduce this score
Even with 72.4% 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 156 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Preston. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Preston, see the exposure-zones guide.