Mount Oliver, PA
Mount Oliver wildfire risk explained
Mount Oliver sits at the 17th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,415 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Mount Oliver's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 16th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
81.3% of Mount Oliver's 1,415 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 0.6% Direct and 18.1% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Mount Oliver against the rest of the country
There's little gap between Mount Oliver's 17th national percentile and its 17th percentile inside Pennsylvania, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Mount Oliver ranks 26,296 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 9,564 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 1,653 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
Mount Oliver and the insurance market
At the 17th national percentile, Mount Oliver rates low 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
Mount Oliver's 81.3% 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 Mount Oliver's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,415 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Mount Oliver. The exposure-zones guide covers what Mount Oliver's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.