Wauneta, NE
Wauneta, NE's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Wauneta's 545 buildings earn a 73rd-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — well above the national norm for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Wauneta at the 71st percentile, close to its 73rd-percentile risk score.
Where Wauneta's buildings actually sit
Indirect exposure is dominant in Wauneta (87% of 545 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 13% sit in the Direct zone.
Where Wauneta ranks
Wauneta's risk sits at a similar level relative to Nebraska (74th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (73rd) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Wauneta ranks 8,449 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,639 by building count (1 is largest). Within Nebraska alone, it ranks 151 of 583 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Nebraska on its state page.
Wauneta and the insurance market
Wauneta's 73rd-percentile, high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Hardening a home in Wauneta
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Wauneta (87% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Wauneta's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 545 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Wauneta. The exposure-zones guide covers what Wauneta's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.