Gratz, PA
Gratz wildfire risk explained
Gratz's 517 buildings earn a 49th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Gratz at the 47th percentile, close to its 49th-percentile risk score.
Where Gratz's buildings actually sit
USFS puts 73.3% of Gratz's 517 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 26.7% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Where Gratz ranks
Compare Gratz's two percentiles: 80th within Pennsylvania, only 49th nationally — a gap of 31 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Gratz ranks 16,086 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,076 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 399 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
Gratz's elevated wildfire rating (49th 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Gratz's 73.3% 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 Gratz's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 517 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Gratz. The exposure-zones guide covers what Gratz's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.