Lawson Heights, PA
How exposed is Lawson Heights to wildfire?
Lawson Heights's 1,176 buildings earn a 28th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Lawson Heights at the 28th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Lawson Heights's buildings actually sit
Most of Lawson Heights's buildings (72%) 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.
Lawson Heights against the rest of the country
Lawson Heights scores 28th nationally and 33rd within Pennsylvania — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Lawson Heights ranks 22,830 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 10,790 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 1,324 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 28th national percentile, Lawson Heights rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
Lawson Heights's 72% 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 Lawson Heights's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Lawson Heights's 22,830-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Lawson Heights's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.