St. Donatus, IA
How exposed is St. Donatus to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts St. Donatus at the 36th national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 102 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts St. Donatus at the 39th percentile, close to its 36th-percentile risk score.
Where St. Donatus's buildings actually sit
50% of St. Donatus's 102 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 51 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 50% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
How St. Donatus compares
St. Donatus's 52nd-percentile standing inside Iowa outpaces its 36th 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, St. Donatus ranks 20,039 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 28,950 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 492 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in St. Donatus
At the 36th national percentile, St. Donatus rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in St. Donatus (50%), 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
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 102 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for St. Donatus. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond St. Donatus, see the exposure-zones guide.