Watson, IL
How exposed is Watson to wildfire?
USFS scores Watson at the 14th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 394 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Watson at the 15th percentile, close to its 14th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
394 buildings are counted in Watson, and 52.8% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 47.2% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
How Watson compares
Compare Watson's two percentiles: 52nd within Illinois, only 14th nationally — a gap of 38 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Watson ranks 26,938 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,328 by building count (1 is largest). Within Illinois alone, it ranks 691 of 1,445 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Illinois on its state page.
Watson and the insurance market
At the 14th national percentile, Watson rates low for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Watson (52.8% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Watson's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 394 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Watson. The exposure-zones guide covers what Watson's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.