Sidney, IA
How exposed is Sidney to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Sidney lands at the 59th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 700 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Sidney at the 60th national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Sidney's buildings actually sit
700 buildings are counted in Sidney, and 46% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 27.7% in Direct exposure or the 26.3% rated Minimal.
Where Sidney ranks
Sidney's 83rd-percentile standing inside Iowa outpaces its 59th 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, Sidney ranks 12,824 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 14,657 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 176 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
Sidney's elevated wildfire rating (59th 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 ember exposure the dominant pattern in Sidney (46% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Sidney's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Sidney's 12,824-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Sidney's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.