Marion Heights, PA
Marion Heights wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Marion Heights at the 57th national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 276 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Marion Heights at the 55th percentile, close to its 57th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
276 buildings are counted in Marion Heights, and 95.3% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 4.7% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
How Marion Heights compares
Marion Heights's 93rd-percentile standing inside Pennsylvania outpaces its 57th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Marion Heights ranks 13,558 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,335 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 131 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
Marion Heights and the insurance market
Marion Heights's elevated rating (57th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Marion Heights (95.3% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Marion Heights's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 276 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Marion Heights. The exposure-zones guide covers what Marion Heights's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.