Woodlawn, IL
Woodlawn wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Woodlawn at the 15th national percentile for risk to structures, among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a score built from 385 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Woodlawn's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 15th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
385 buildings are counted in Woodlawn, and 74.6% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 24.4% in Direct exposure or the 1% rated Minimal.
Where Woodlawn ranks
Woodlawn's 53rd-percentile standing inside Illinois outpaces its 15th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Woodlawn ranks 26,783 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,520 by building count (1 is largest). Within Illinois alone, it ranks 677 of 1,445 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Illinois on its state page.
Woodlawn and the insurance market
Woodlawn's low rating (15th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Woodlawn's 74.6% 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.
Where Woodlawn's figures come from
Woodlawn's 15th-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 Woodlawn's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.