Sidney, NE
Sidney, NE's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Sidney sits at the 61st percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 3,698 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Sidney at the 61st percentile, close to its 61st-percentile risk score.
Sidney's building exposure, zone by zone
Most of Sidney's buildings (91.9%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Sidney against the rest of the country
Sidney's risk sits at a similar level relative to Nebraska (53rd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (61st) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Sidney ranks 12,237 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 4,526 by building count (1 is largest). Within Nebraska alone, it ranks 274 of 583 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Nebraska on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Sidney
Sidney's high rating (61st percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Sidney's 91.9% 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 Sidney's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 3,698 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Sidney. The exposure-zones guide covers what Sidney's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.