Laurel, NY
Laurel wildfire risk explained
USFS scores Laurel at the 41st national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 1,289 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 Laurel at the 41st percentile, close to its 41st-percentile risk score.
Where Laurel's buildings actually sit
1,289 buildings are counted in Laurel, and 64.2% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 28.6% rated Minimal.
How Laurel compares
Within New York, Laurel ranks higher (86th percentile) than it does nationally (41st) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Laurel ranks 18,567 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,134 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 181 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
Laurel and the insurance market
Laurel's elevated wildfire rating (41st 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
With 64.2% of Laurel in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
Where Laurel's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,289 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Laurel. The exposure-zones guide covers what Laurel's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.