Bangor, PA
Bangor wildfire risk explained
Bangor sits at the 45th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,836 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Bangor at the 45th national percentile — 0 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
1,836 buildings are counted in Bangor, and 82.4% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 17.6% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
Bangor against the rest of the country
Compare Bangor's two percentiles: 72nd within Pennsylvania, only 45th nationally — a gap of 27 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Bangor ranks 17,376 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,960 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 552 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
Bangor's elevated wildfire rating (45th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
What would actually reduce this score
Bangor's 82.4% 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 Bangor's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,836 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Bangor. The exposure-zones guide covers what Bangor's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.