Gates, NY
Gates, NY's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Gates at the 6th national percentile for risk to structures, among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a score built from 2,292 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Gates at the 6th national percentile — 1 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
83.9% of Gates's 2,292 buildings sit in USFS's Minimal exposure zone, with only 16.1% rated Direct — risk here comes from regional burn probability more than proximity to burnable vegetation at the structure itself.
How Gates compares
Gates's risk sits at a similar level relative to New York (8th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (6th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Gates ranks 29,729 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,715 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 1,181 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Gates's low rating (6th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Even with 83.9% of Gates 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.
Where Gates's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Gates's 29,729-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Gates's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.