Red Cloud, NE
Red Cloud, NE's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Red Cloud lands at the 51st percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 905 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Red Cloud at the 49th percentile, close to its 51st-percentile risk score.
Red Cloud's building exposure, zone by zone
53.7% of Red Cloud's 905 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 7% Direct and 39.3% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
How Red Cloud compares
Red Cloud's risk sits at a similar level relative to Nebraska (38th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (51st) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Red Cloud ranks 15,416 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,676 by building count (1 is largest). Within Nebraska alone, it ranks 362 of 583 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Nebraska on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 51st national percentile, Red Cloud rates elevated 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
Because 53.7% of Red Cloud's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Red Cloud's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 905 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Red Cloud. The exposure-zones guide covers what Red Cloud's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.