West Point, IA
West Point wildfire risk explained
West Point's 591 buildings earn a 58th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, West Point's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 60th percentile nationally.
Where West Point's buildings actually sit
591 buildings are counted in West Point, and 87.8% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 12.2% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
Where West Point ranks
Within Iowa, West Point ranks higher (80th percentile) than it does nationally (58th) — 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 Point ranks 13,267 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,948 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 202 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
West Point and the insurance market
West Point's elevated wildfire rating (58th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Hardening a home in West Point
West Point's 87.8% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 591 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for West Point. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond West Point, see the exposure-zones guide.