Waterloo, NE
How exposed is Waterloo to wildfire?
USFS scores Waterloo at the 61st national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (well above the national norm for wildfire risk), a figure built from 643 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Waterloo's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 56th percentile nationally.
Waterloo's building exposure, zone by zone
Only 12.9% of Waterloo's 643 buildings carry Direct exposure and 0% carry Indirect; the remaining 87.1% are Minimal, which shifts the risk driving this page's score toward the surrounding landscape rather than any one structure.
Where Waterloo ranks
Waterloo's risk sits at a similar level relative to Nebraska (53rd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (61st) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Waterloo ranks 12,171 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,284 by building count (1 is largest). Within Nebraska alone, it ranks 273 of 583 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Nebraska on its state page.
Waterloo and the insurance market
At the 61st percentile nationally, Waterloo 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
Even with 87.1% of Waterloo outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where Waterloo's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Waterloo's 12,171-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Waterloo's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.