Kiamesha Lake, NY
Kiamesha Lake wildfire risk explained
Kiamesha Lake sits at the 36th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 336 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Kiamesha Lake at the 36th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
81% of Kiamesha Lake's 336 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 272 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 18.8% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0.3% are Minimal.
Where Kiamesha Lake ranks
Compare Kiamesha Lake's two percentiles: 77th within New York, only 36th nationally — a gap of 41 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Kiamesha Lake ranks 20,266 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 20,679 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 298 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
Kiamesha Lake and the insurance market
Kiamesha Lake's moderate wildfire rating (36th 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 Kiamesha Lake
Because Direct exposure dominates in Kiamesha Lake (81%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 336 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Kiamesha Lake. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Kiamesha Lake, see the exposure-zones guide.