MacDonnell Heights, NY
How exposed is MacDonnell Heights to wildfire?
USFS scores MacDonnell Heights at the 34th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 545 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, MacDonnell Heights's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 34th percentile nationally.
Where MacDonnell Heights's buildings actually sit
53.4% of MacDonnell Heights's 545 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 46.6% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
How MacDonnell Heights compares
Within New York, MacDonnell Heights ranks higher (74th percentile) than it does nationally (34th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, MacDonnell Heights ranks 20,802 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,640 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 343 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in MacDonnell Heights
MacDonnell Heights's moderate wildfire rating (34th 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
Because 53.4% of MacDonnell Heights's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where MacDonnell Heights's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 545 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for MacDonnell Heights. The exposure-zones guide covers what MacDonnell Heights's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.