Hershey, NE
Hershey wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Hershey at the 45th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 508 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Hershey at the 45th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Hershey's building exposure, zone by zone
Most of Hershey's buildings (82.1%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
How Hershey compares
Hershey ranks lower within Nebraska (30th percentile statewide) than its 45th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Hershey ranks 17,334 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 17,211 by building count (1 is largest). Within Nebraska alone, it ranks 410 of 583 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Nebraska on its state page.
Hershey and the insurance market
Hershey's elevated wildfire rating (45th 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.
Hardening a home in Hershey
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Hershey (82.1% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Hershey's figures come from
Hershey's 45th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Hershey's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.