South Mound, KS
How exposed is South Mound to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts South Mound at the 59th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 37 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks South Mound at the 59th national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where South Mound's buildings actually sit
37 buildings are counted in South Mound, and 75.7% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 24.3% rated Minimal.
South Mound against the rest of the country
There's little gap between South Mound's 59th national percentile and its 50th percentile inside Kansas, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, South Mound ranks 13,078 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 31,229 by building count (1 is largest). Within Kansas alone, it ranks 360 of 721 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Kansas on its state page.
South Mound and the insurance market
At the 59th national percentile, South Mound rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in South Mound
Because Direct exposure dominates in South Mound (75.7%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
South Mound's 59th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond South Mound, see the exposure-zones guide.