Sidney, IN
How exposed is Sidney to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Sidney lands at the 5th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 101 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Sidney's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 4th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 84.2% of Sidney's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 15.8% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
Sidney against the rest of the country
Sidney's 33rd-percentile standing inside Indiana outpaces its 5th 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 30,102 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 28,990 by building count (1 is largest). Within Indiana alone, it ranks 654 of 967 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Indiana on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Sidney
Sidney's low wildfire rating (5th 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.
What would actually reduce this score
With 84.2% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Sidney gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Sidney's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 101 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Sidney. The exposure-zones guide covers what Sidney's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.