Scotchtown, NY
Scotchtown, NY's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Scotchtown's 2,433 buildings earn a 44th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Scotchtown at the 45th percentile, close to its 44th-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Indirect exposure is dominant in Scotchtown (64.3% of 2,433 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 32.8% sit in the Direct zone.
Scotchtown against the rest of the country
Within New York, Scotchtown ranks higher (89th percentile) than it does nationally (44th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Scotchtown ranks 17,691 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,434 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 145 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
Scotchtown and the insurance market
Scotchtown's elevated rating (44th 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
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Scotchtown (64.3% 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
Every one of the two percentiles behind Scotchtown's 17,691-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Scotchtown, see the exposure-zones guide.