Iowa wildfire risk
Iowa sits in the lower half of US states for wildfire hazard, but lower does not mean none — hazard concentrates locally regardless of the statewide picture. This page covers current activity and how to check your own address.
Active fires in Iowa
Iowa's recorded fire history
Federal records show 76 mapped wildfire perimeters in Iowa since 2000, but no single incident large enough to dominate the record. Fire activity here tends to be frequent and small rather than occasional and catastrophic — a different risk profile from the western states, and one that still destroys structures at the wildland-urban interface.
Where hazard concentrates in Iowa
Wildfire hazard is not spread evenly across a state. These are the 5 counties in Iowa with the highest wildfire risk scores in FEMA's National Risk Index, with the building value each has sitting in exposed areas.
| County | Hazard score | Building exposure |
|---|---|---|
| Woodbury County | 87.4 | $2.5B |
| Plymouth County | 70.5 | $1.1B |
| Davis County | 68.6 | $918M |
| Pottawattamie County | 67.2 | $2.1B |
| Tama County | 65.5 | $816M |
Woodbury County carries the highest score in the state at 87.4. If your address is there, or in any of the counties above, the statewide average understates your situation considerably — which is the reason to check the parcel rather than the state.
How Iowa ranks nationally
FEMA's National Risk Index scores every US county for expected annual wildfire loss. Across Iowa's 99 assessed counties the average wildfire hazard score is 35.2, which places the state 35th of the 50 states. The most exposed county in Iowa scores 87.4.
Against a 50-state average of 52.7, Iowa sits 17.5 points below it. Rank 35 of 50. The National Risk Index blends how often wildfire is expected with how much is standing in the way, so a state can post a moderate score with severe local hazard wherever development has pushed into the wildland-urban interface.
Roughly $139.2B of building value sits inside Iowa's wildfire-exposed areas. That figure is what drives carrier behaviour: insurers manage concentration of exposure, so a state can have modest average hazard and still see availability problems wherever that value clusters in the wildland-urban interface.
Iowa wildfire season
Iowa sees most wildfire activity during dry spells in spring and autumn, when cured vegetation and low humidity coincide. Activity is generally episodic rather than a sustained multi-month season.
Insurance in Iowa
Iowa operates a FAIR Plan or equivalent residual market. Average hazard across the state is moderate, so most homeowners remain in the standard admitted market — but that is a statewide average, and parcels in the wildland-urban interface can face declinations regardless of the state picture.
Residual-market availability and the rules governing it change. Confirm the current position with the Iowa Department of Insurance before you rely on it.
Whatever the market looks like in your area, the sequence is the same: document mitigation before your renewal date, work with an independent broker who can access surplus lines, and ask directly whether the carrier credits wildfire mitigation. The full fire insurance guide covers non-renewal, FAIR Plans and difference-in-conditions wraps in detail.
Lowering your risk in Iowa
The two changes with the best return anywhere in the country are clearing the first five feet around the structure to non-combustible material, and screening vents against ember entry. Both are cheap, both address the mechanism that destroys most homes, and both are visible to an underwriter if you photograph and invoice them. What qualifies and how to document it.