Van Wert, IA
Van Wert, IA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Van Wert sits at the 66th 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 190 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Van Wert at the 67th national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
52.6% of Van Wert's 190 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 47.4% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
Where Van Wert ranks
Within Iowa, Van Wert ranks higher (90th percentile) than it does nationally (66th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Van Wert ranks 10,745 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,242 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 106 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Van Wert and the insurance market
At the 66th percentile nationally, Van Wert carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Van Wert's 52.6% Minimal-exposure share means structure-level hardening matters less here than it would elsewhere — still worth the low-cost basics, per the home-hardening guide.
Where Van Wert's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Van Wert's 10,745-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Van Wert's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.