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Risk & Response

Vernon County, WI

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 92.1 Very High

31,049
Population
14
Departments
16
Stations
7
Census Tracts

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
1.03
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
20th highest of 72
Life Safety per 100k
3.32
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
7th highest of 72
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$10.3M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
43rd highest of 72
Property Loss per Resident
$333
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
23rd highest of 72

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Vernon County, the largest single contributor is Cold Wave, 71% of the life-safety total.

Vernon County carries an expected 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $10.3M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 72 Wisconsin counties. Nationally, Vernon County ranks 574th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 251st for life safety per 100k residents, 1480th for property loss, and 1613th for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Vernon County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Vernon County.

Talk to us about Vernon County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

41%
56%
Property (buildings): $10.3M (40.8%)
Life safety: $14.1M (55.7%)
Agriculture: $891K (3.5%)

Total expected annual loss: $25,341,516 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Cold Wave
$10.0M
Landslide
$979K
Tornado
$893K
Inland Flooding
$805K
Strong Wind
$685K
Heat Wave
$587K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$8.4M
Tornado
$947K
Hail
$783K
Strong Wind
$138K
Lightning
$30K
Landslide
$14K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Vernon County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

86%
Combination: 7% (1)
Volunteer: 86% (12)
Unreported: 7% (1)
Residents per Station
1,941
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
51.5
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 14 departments registered in NERIS Public for Vernon County, WI. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Vernon County. Click column headers to sort.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 14 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Monroe Vernon Fire Association 16,713 $5.6M Very High 1
Viroqua Fire Department 8,692 $3.7M Very High 1
De Soto Fire Department 6,634 $2.7M Very High 1
Readstown Fire Department 3,457 $1.8M Very High 1
HILLSBORO VOL FIRE DEPT 3,937 $1.7M Very High 1
Westby-Christiana Fire District 3,480 $1.5M Very High 1
Coon Creek Fire & Rescue 3,609 $1.4M Very High 1
La Farge Fire Department 2,839 $1.4M Very High 1
Cashton Fire Department 3,900 $1.3M Very High 1
Stoddard Bergen Volunteer Fire Department 2,299 $1.1M Very High 2
Genoa Harmony Fire Department 1,987 $922.2K Very High 1
Wheatland Fire Department 1,150 $572.7K Very High 1
Viola Volunteer Fire Department 1,230 $436.3K Very High 1
Yuba Volunteer Fire Department 1,143 $343.0K Very High 2
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

13.1%
Poverty Rate
21.3%
Age 65+
10.6%
Disability Rate
15.0%
Uninsured
57.9%
Pre-1980 Housing
9.4%
Mobile Homes
11.7%
Vacancy Rate
16.2%
Wood Heat
$72,603
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

7
Last 10 Years
13
Last 25 Years
Severe Storm
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

Explore the Regional Tier See the Response Demo