Altamont, PA
How exposed is Altamont to wildfire?
USFS scores Altamont at the 49th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 395 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Altamont at the 48th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Altamont's building exposure, zone by zone
Most of Altamont's buildings (74.4%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Altamont against the rest of the country
Within Pennsylvania, Altamont ranks higher (79th percentile) than it does nationally (49th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Altamont ranks 16,207 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,322 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 408 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 49th national percentile, Altamont rates elevated for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Altamont
Altamont's 74.4% 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 Altamont's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 395 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Altamont. The exposure-zones guide covers what Altamont's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.