West Plains, MO
West Plains, MO's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
West Plains's 6,539 buildings earn a 75th-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.)
Separately from the risk score above, West Plains's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 78th percentile nationally.
West Plains's building exposure, zone by zone
73.3% of West Plains's 6,539 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 26.7% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone. At 6,539 buildings, this is a substantial built environment, so the shares below describe a real population of structures, not a handful of edge cases.
West Plains against the rest of the country
Within Missouri, West Plains ranks higher (91st percentile) than it does nationally (75th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, West Plains ranks 7,943 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 2,654 by building count (1 is largest). Within Missouri alone, it ranks 97 of 1,062 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Missouri on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in West Plains
At the 75th percentile nationally, West Plains carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because 73.3% of West Plains's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where West Plains's figures come from
West Plains's 75th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what West Plains's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.