Blue Bell, PA
Blue Bell, PA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Blue Bell sits at the 17th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 2,403 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Blue Bell at the 17th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Of Blue Bell's 2,403 counted buildings, 79.4% carry Direct exposure and only 20.6% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Where Blue Bell ranks
Blue Bell's risk sits at a similar level relative to Pennsylvania (18th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (17th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Blue Bell ranks 26,173 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,505 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 1,637 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
Blue Bell and the insurance market
Blue Bell's low rating (17th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Blue Bell (79.4%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Blue Bell's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,403 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Blue Bell. The exposure-zones guide covers what Blue Bell's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.