Steeleville, IL
How exposed is Steeleville to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Steeleville at the 18th national percentile for risk to structures, among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a score built from 1,322 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Steeleville's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 19th percentile nationally.
Steeleville's building exposure, zone by zone
Indirect exposure is dominant in Steeleville (87.8% of 1,322 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 8.9% sit in the Direct zone.
Where Steeleville ranks
Steeleville's 59th-percentile standing inside Illinois outpaces its 18th 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, Steeleville ranks 25,709 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 9,963 by building count (1 is largest). Within Illinois alone, it ranks 597 of 1,445 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Illinois on its state page.
Steeleville and the insurance market
Steeleville's low wildfire rating (18th 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
Steeleville's 87.8% 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 Steeleville's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,322 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Steeleville. The exposure-zones guide covers what Steeleville's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.