South Lansing, NY
How exposed is South Lansing to wildfire?
USFS scores South Lansing at the 16th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally), a figure built from 656 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, South Lansing's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 16th percentile nationally.
Where South Lansing's buildings actually sit
656 buildings are counted in South Lansing, and 90.2% of them sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone — flame contact, not just ember cast, is the live possibility for most of them, against 0% rated Minimal.
Where South Lansing ranks
Compare South Lansing's two percentiles: 38th within New York, only 16th nationally — a gap of 22 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, South Lansing ranks 26,448 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 15,116 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 805 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
At the 16th national percentile, South Lansing rates low for wildfire risk — well short of the threshold where insurers have been withdrawing coverage, though comparing a quote costs nothing either way.
What would actually reduce this score
With 90.2% of South Lansing in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
Where South Lansing's figures come from
South Lansing's 16th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what South Lansing's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.