Pulaski, IA
Pulaski wildfire risk explained
Pulaski sits at the 56th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 196 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Pulaski's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 58th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Only 41.3% of Pulaski's 196 buildings carry Direct exposure and 0% carry Indirect; the remaining 58.7% are Minimal, which shifts the risk driving this page's score toward the surrounding landscape rather than any one structure.
How Pulaski compares
Pulaski's 77th-percentile standing inside Iowa outpaces its 56th 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, Pulaski ranks 13,831 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 24,995 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 235 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Pulaski's elevated wildfire rating (56th 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Even with 58.7% of Pulaski 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 Pulaski's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Pulaski's 13,831-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Pulaski's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.