Salem, IA
Salem, IA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Salem sits at the 46th 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 274 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Salem's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 48th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 83.2% of Salem's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 16.8% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
How Salem compares
Within Iowa, Salem ranks higher (63rd percentile) than it does nationally (46th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Salem ranks 17,011 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,392 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 381 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Salem
At the 46th national percentile, Salem rates elevated 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 83.2% of Salem 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 274 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Salem. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Salem, see the exposure-zones guide.