Scio, NY
Scio wildfire risk explained
Scio sits at the 14th 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 454 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Scio's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 14th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
61.9% of Scio's 454 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 281 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 38.1% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where Scio ranks
Compare Scio's two percentiles: 34th within New York, only 14th nationally — a gap of 20 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Scio ranks 27,016 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 18,194 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 853 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
Scio and the insurance market
Scio's low rating (14th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Scio
Because Direct exposure dominates in Scio (61.9%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Scio's 14th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Scio, see the exposure-zones guide.