Otter Lake, NY
How exposed is Otter Lake to wildfire?
Otter Lake sits at the 6th 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 142 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Otter Lake's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 6th percentile nationally.
Where Otter Lake's buildings actually sit
Of Otter Lake's 142 counted buildings, 100% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
How Otter Lake compares
There's little gap between Otter Lake's 6th national percentile and its 8th percentile inside New York, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Otter Lake ranks 29,732 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 27,216 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 1,184 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Otter Lake
At the 6th national percentile, Otter Lake 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
Otter Lake's 100% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Otter Lake's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 142 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Otter Lake. The exposure-zones guide covers what Otter Lake's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.