Cattaraugus, NY
Cattaraugus wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Cattaraugus lands at the 15th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 527 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Cattaraugus's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 15th percentile nationally.
Cattaraugus's building exposure, zone by zone
Direct exposure dominates in Cattaraugus: 71.4% of its 527 buildings, versus 28.7% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Cattaraugus against the rest of the country
Within New York, Cattaraugus ranks higher (35th percentile) than it does nationally (15th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Cattaraugus ranks 26,858 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,909 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 838 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
Cattaraugus and the insurance market
At the 15th national percentile, Cattaraugus rates low for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Cattaraugus
Cattaraugus's 71.4% 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 Cattaraugus's figures come from
Cattaraugus's 15th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Cattaraugus's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.