Hellertown, PA
How exposed is Hellertown to wildfire?
USFS scores Hellertown at the 25th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 2,785 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Hellertown at the 23rd percentile, close to its 25th-percentile risk score.
Hellertown's building exposure, zone by zone
2,785 buildings are counted in Hellertown, and 92.9% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 7.1% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
Hellertown against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Hellertown's 25th national percentile and its 29th percentile inside Pennsylvania, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Hellertown ranks 23,771 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 5,795 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 1,422 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
At the 25th national percentile, Hellertown rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Hellertown's 92.9% 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 Hellertown's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,785 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Hellertown. The exposure-zones guide covers what Hellertown's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.