Gorham, NY
How exposed is Gorham to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Gorham lands at the 3rd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 407 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Gorham at the 3rd national percentile — 0 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
407 buildings are counted in Gorham, and 69.8% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 30.2% rated Minimal.
Gorham against the rest of the country
Gorham scores 3rd nationally and 1st within New York — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Gorham ranks 30,553 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,087 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 1,272 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
At the 3rd national percentile, Gorham 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 Gorham
Gorham's 69.8% 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 Gorham's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 407 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Gorham. The exposure-zones guide covers what Gorham's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.