Donaldson, PA
How exposed is Donaldson to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Donaldson lands at the 63rd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 226 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Donaldson at the 60th national percentile — 3 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Donaldson's buildings actually sit
Most of Donaldson's buildings (59.3%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Where Donaldson ranks
Compare Donaldson's two percentiles: 98th within Pennsylvania, only 63rd nationally — a gap of 36 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Donaldson ranks 11,826 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 23,928 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 38 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
At the 63rd percentile nationally, Donaldson carries the high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
What would actually reduce this score
Because 59.3% of Donaldson's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Donaldson's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 226 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Donaldson. The exposure-zones guide covers what Donaldson's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.