Elwood, NY
Elwood, NY's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Elwood at the 29th national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 4,346 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Elwood's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 30th percentile nationally.
Where Elwood's buildings actually sit
66% of Elwood's 4,346 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 34.1% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
Where Elwood ranks
Within New York, Elwood ranks higher (60th percentile) than it does nationally (29th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Elwood ranks 22,474 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 3,936 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 513 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
Elwood and the insurance market
Elwood's moderate wildfire rating (29th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Even with 66% of Elwood outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 4,346 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Elwood. For more on what minimal exposure implies beyond Elwood, see the exposure-zones guide.