Pen Mar, PA
How exposed is Pen Mar to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Pen Mar lands at the 57th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 432 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Pen Mar at the 54th percentile, close to its 57th-percentile risk score.
Pen Mar's building exposure, zone by zone
Direct exposure dominates in Pen Mar: 66.7% of its 432 buildings, versus 33.3% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Where Pen Mar ranks
Pen Mar's 94th-percentile standing inside Pennsylvania outpaces its 57th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Pen Mar ranks 13,438 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,611 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 122 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
Pen Mar's elevated wildfire rating (57th percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Pen Mar (66.7%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Pen Mar's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 432 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Pen Mar. The exposure-zones guide covers what Pen Mar's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.