Viola, WI
Viola wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Viola at the 33rd national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 462 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Viola at the 35th national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Viola's buildings actually sit
69.7% of Viola's 462 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 30.3% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Where Viola ranks
Within Wisconsin, Viola ranks higher (74th percentile) than it does nationally (33rd) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Viola ranks 21,229 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,039 by building count (1 is largest). Within Wisconsin alone, it ranks 213 of 808 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Wisconsin on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Viola's moderate rating (33rd percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
Viola's 69.7% 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 Viola's figures come from
Viola's 33rd-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Viola's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.