Elderton, PA
Elderton wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, Elderton lands at the 37th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 259 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Elderton at the 38th percentile, close to its 37th-percentile risk score.
Elderton's building exposure, zone by zone
Indirect exposure is dominant in Elderton (82.2% of 259 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 17.8% sit in the Direct zone.
Elderton against the rest of the country
Within Pennsylvania, Elderton ranks higher (55th percentile) than it does nationally (37th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Elderton ranks 19,921 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,866 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 902 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
Elderton and the insurance market
At the 37th national percentile, Elderton rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Elderton's 82.2% 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.
Where Elderton's figures come from
Elderton's 37th-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 Elderton's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.