Burnham, PA
How exposed is Burnham to wildfire?
USFS scores Burnham at the 42nd national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 1,060 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Burnham at the 40th percentile, close to its 42nd-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
75.1% of Burnham's 1,060 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 24.9% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Burnham against the rest of the country
Within Pennsylvania, Burnham ranks higher (67th percentile) than it does nationally (42nd) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Burnham ranks 18,261 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,525 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 651 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
Burnham and the insurance market
Burnham's elevated rating (42nd 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
Burnham's 75.1% 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,060 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Burnham. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Burnham, see the exposure-zones guide.