Simpson, PA
Simpson wildfire risk explained
Simpson's 662 buildings earn a 48th-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 Simpson at the 47th percentile, close to its 48th-percentile risk score.
Where Simpson's buildings actually sit
Most of Simpson's buildings (73%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
How Simpson compares
Compare Simpson's two percentiles: 77th within Pennsylvania, only 48th nationally — a gap of 29 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Simpson ranks 16,529 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,043 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 462 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
Simpson'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.
What would actually reduce this score
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Simpson (73% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Simpson's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Simpson's 16,529-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Simpson's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.