Westgate, IA
Westgate, IA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Westgate at the 6th national percentile for risk to structures, among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a score built from 168 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Westgate's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 6th percentile nationally.
Westgate's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS classifies 87.5% of Westgate's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 12.5% Direct and 0% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
Westgate against the rest of the country
Westgate scores 6th nationally and 14th within Iowa — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Westgate ranks 29,503 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 26,094 by building count (1 is largest). Within Iowa alone, it ranks 876 of 1,017 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Iowa on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 6th national percentile, Westgate rates low for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Even with 87.5% of Westgate outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where Westgate's figures come from
Westgate's 6th-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 Westgate's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.