Searsboro, IA
Searsboro, IA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Searsboro at the 58th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 134 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Searsboro's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 59th percentile nationally.
Where Searsboro's buildings actually sit
64.9% of Searsboro's 134 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 35.1% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
How Searsboro compares
Compare Searsboro's two percentiles: 80th within Iowa, only 58th nationally — a gap of 22 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Searsboro ranks 13,359 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,541 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 209 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Searsboro and the insurance market
Searsboro's elevated wildfire rating (58th 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With 64.9% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Searsboro gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Searsboro's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 134 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Searsboro. The exposure-zones guide covers what Searsboro's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.