Walnut, IA
How exposed is Walnut to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Walnut lands at the 25th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 568 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Walnut's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 23rd percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Walnut's buildings (84.7% of 568) fall outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones entirely — that doesn't zero out the score above, it means the risk is regional, not structure-by-structure.
Walnut against the rest of the country
Walnut's risk sits at a similar level relative to Iowa (39th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (25th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Walnut ranks 23,632 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,281 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 628 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Walnut and the insurance market
Walnut's moderate rating (25th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Walnut
With 84.7% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Walnut gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
Where Walnut's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 568 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Walnut. The exposure-zones guide covers what Walnut's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.