Potsdam, NY
Potsdam wildfire risk explained
Potsdam sits at the 16th 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 2,081 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Potsdam at the 15th percentile, close to its 16th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
2,081 buildings are counted in Potsdam, and 62.5% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 37.5% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
Where Potsdam ranks
Compare Potsdam's two percentiles: 37th within New York, only 16th nationally — a gap of 21 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Potsdam ranks 26,640 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,251 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 816 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Potsdam's low rating (16th 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
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Potsdam (62.5% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,081 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Potsdam. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Potsdam, see the exposure-zones guide.