Shell Rock, IA
Shell Rock, IA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Shell Rock sits at the 35th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 879 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Shell Rock at the 33rd national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
73% of Shell Rock's 879 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 24.5% Direct and 2.5% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
How Shell Rock compares
Shell Rock's risk sits at a similar level relative to Iowa (49th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (35th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Shell Rock ranks 20,606 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,915 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 517 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Shell Rock
Shell Rock's moderate wildfire rating (35th 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.
Hardening a home in Shell Rock
Shell Rock's 73% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Shell Rock's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Shell Rock's 20,606-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Shell Rock's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.