Wellsburg, IA
Wellsburg wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Wellsburg lands at the 6th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 524 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Wellsburg's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 5th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Most of Wellsburg's buildings (92.4% of 524) fall outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones entirely — that doesn't zero out the score above, it means the risk is regional, not structure-by-structure.
How Wellsburg compares
Wellsburg's risk sits at a similar level relative to Iowa (13th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (6th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Wellsburg ranks 29,755 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,961 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 891 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Wellsburg
Wellsburg's low rating (6th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Wellsburg
Wellsburg's 92.4% 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 Wellsburg's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 524 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Wellsburg. The exposure-zones guide covers what Wellsburg's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.