Howard, PA
How exposed is Howard to wildfire?
Howard sits at the 55th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 427 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Howard at the 54th percentile, close to its 55th-percentile risk score.
Howard's building exposure, zone by zone
75.9% of Howard's 427 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 24.1% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Howard against the rest of the country
Compare Howard's two percentiles: 91st within Pennsylvania, only 55th nationally — a gap of 36 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Howard ranks 14,194 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,721 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 183 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
Howard and the insurance market
Howard's elevated wildfire rating (55th 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Howard (75.9% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Howard's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 427 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Howard. The exposure-zones guide covers what Howard's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.