Burke, NY
Burke wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Burke lands at the 8th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 127 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Burke's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 9th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Of Burke's 127 counted buildings, 96.9% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Burke against the rest of the country
Burke scores 8th nationally and 18th within New York — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Burke ranks 28,913 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,863 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 1,052 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Burke's low rating (8th 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
Burke's 96.9% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Burke's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Burke's 28,913-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Burke's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.