Whiteside, MO
Whiteside wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Whiteside at the 60th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 71 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Whiteside at the 62nd percentile, close to its 60th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
71 buildings are counted in Whiteside, and 73.2% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0% rated Minimal.
Where Whiteside ranks
There's little gap between Whiteside's 60th national percentile and its 56th percentile inside Missouri, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Whiteside ranks 12,611 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,248 by building count (1 is largest). Within Missouri alone, it ranks 473 of 1,062 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Missouri on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 60th national percentile, Whiteside rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Whiteside (73.2%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Whiteside's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Whiteside's 12,611-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Whiteside's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.