Norvelt, PA
Norvelt, PA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Out of every US place USFS scores, Norvelt lands at the 32nd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 641 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Norvelt's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 33rd percentile nationally.
Norvelt's building exposure, zone by zone
Of Norvelt's 641 counted buildings, 84.4% carry Direct exposure and only 1.7% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
How Norvelt compares
There's little gap between Norvelt's 32nd national percentile and its 42nd percentile inside Pennsylvania, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Norvelt ranks 21,571 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,315 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 1,159 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
Norvelt and the insurance market
At the 32nd national percentile, Norvelt rates moderate for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
Hardening a home in Norvelt
Because Direct exposure dominates in Norvelt (84.4%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Norvelt's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 641 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Norvelt. The exposure-zones guide covers what Norvelt's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.