Browndale, PA
Browndale wildfire risk explained
Browndale sits at the 51st 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 342 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Browndale at the 51st percentile, close to its 51st-percentile risk score.
Where Browndale's buildings actually sit
342 buildings are counted in Browndale, and 60.2% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 39.8% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
How Browndale compares
Within Pennsylvania, Browndale ranks higher (85th percentile) than it does nationally (51st) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Browndale ranks 15,327 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,529 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 303 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
Browndale and the insurance market
Browndale's elevated wildfire rating (51st 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Browndale (60.2% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 342 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Browndale. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Browndale, see the exposure-zones guide.