North Belle Vernon, PA
North Belle Vernon wildfire risk explained
USFS scores North Belle Vernon at the 24th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 1,085 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts North Belle Vernon at the 26th percentile, close to its 24th-percentile risk score.
Where North Belle Vernon's buildings actually sit
1,085 buildings are counted in North Belle Vernon, and 91.8% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 3% in Direct exposure or the 5.3% rated Minimal.
North Belle Vernon against the rest of the country
There's little gap between North Belle Vernon's 24th national percentile and its 28th percentile inside Pennsylvania, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, North Belle Vernon ranks 23,959 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,378 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 1,440 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
North Belle Vernon and the insurance market
North Belle Vernon's moderate rating (24th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
North Belle Vernon's 91.8% 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 North Belle Vernon's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,085 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for North Belle Vernon. The exposure-zones guide covers what North Belle Vernon's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.