Waterman, IL
Waterman wildfire risk explained
Waterman's 738 buildings earn a 1st-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Waterman at the 1st national percentile — 0 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
Waterman rates 97% Minimal exposure against just 3% Direct and 0% Indirect — of 738 buildings counted, few sit close enough to burnable vegetation for USFS to flag them individually.
Waterman against the rest of the country
Waterman's risk sits at a similar level relative to Illinois (10th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (1st) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Waterman ranks 31,133 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 14,235 by building count (1 is largest). Within Illinois alone, it ranks 1,297 of 1,445 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Illinois on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Waterman
Waterman's low wildfire rating (1st 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
With 97% of buildings rated Minimal exposure, Waterman gets less benefit from structure hardening than a Direct- or Indirect-dominant place would — the home-hardening guide explains why the zone matters.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 738 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Waterman. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Waterman, see the exposure-zones guide.