Watkins, IA
Watkins wildfire risk explained
Watkins sits at the 7th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 111 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Watkins at the 7th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Watkins's building exposure, zone by zone
84.7% of Watkins's 111 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 15.3% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
Watkins against the rest of the country
Watkins's risk sits at a similar level relative to Iowa (15th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (7th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Watkins ranks 29,245 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 28,583 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 862 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 7th national percentile, Watkins rates low for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Watkins's 84.7% 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 Watkins's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 111 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Watkins. The exposure-zones guide covers what Watkins's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.