Penn State Erie (Behrend), PA
Penn State Erie (Behrend), PA's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Penn State Erie (Behrend) at the 35th national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 76 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Penn State Erie (Behrend)'s burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 36th percentile nationally.
Penn State Erie (Behrend)'s building exposure, zone by zone
Indirect exposure is dominant in Penn State Erie (Behrend) (61.8% of 76 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 38.2% sit in the Direct zone.
Penn State Erie (Behrend) against the rest of the country
Penn State Erie (Behrend)'s risk sits at a similar level relative to Pennsylvania (50th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (35th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Penn State Erie (Behrend) ranks 20,529 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,060 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 1,005 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
Penn State Erie (Behrend) and the insurance market
Penn State Erie (Behrend)'s moderate rating (35th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
Penn State Erie (Behrend)'s 61.8% 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 Penn State Erie (Behrend)'s figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 76 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Penn State Erie (Behrend). The exposure-zones guide covers what Penn State Erie (Behrend)'s dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.