McAlisterville, PA
How exposed is McAlisterville to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts McAlisterville at the 43rd national percentile for risk to structures, modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a score built from 558 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 McAlisterville at the 42nd percentile, close to its 43rd-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Indirect exposure is dominant in McAlisterville (59.3% of 558 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 40.7% sit in the Direct zone.
McAlisterville against the rest of the country
Within Pennsylvania, McAlisterville ranks higher (68th percentile) than it does nationally (43rd) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, McAlisterville ranks 18,105 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,443 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 631 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
McAlisterville's elevated rating (43rd 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
McAlisterville's 59.3% 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 McAlisterville's figures come from
McAlisterville's 43rd-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what McAlisterville's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.