Shenandoah Heights, PA
How exposed is Shenandoah Heights to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Shenandoah Heights lands at the 48th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 539 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Shenandoah Heights at the 48th national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
539 buildings are counted in Shenandoah Heights, and 75.3% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 24.7% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
Shenandoah Heights against the rest of the country
Within Pennsylvania, Shenandoah Heights ranks higher (79th percentile) than it does nationally (48th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Shenandoah Heights ranks 16,276 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 16,740 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 423 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
Shenandoah Heights's elevated rating (48th 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
Because 75.3% of Shenandoah Heights's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Shenandoah Heights's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 539 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Shenandoah Heights. The exposure-zones guide covers what Shenandoah Heights's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.