Southview, PA
How exposed is Southview to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Southview lands at the 42nd percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 172 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Southview's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 45th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Of Southview's 172 counted buildings, 79.7% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
How Southview compares
Compare Southview's two percentiles: 67th within Pennsylvania, only 42nd nationally — a gap of 25 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Southview ranks 18,292 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 25,963 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 661 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
Southview's elevated wildfire rating (42nd percentile) isn't the kind of score driving the carrier pullback making news in the highest-risk Western markets — but a standard homeowners quote is still worth comparing on its own terms.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Southview (79.7%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Southview's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 172 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Southview. The exposure-zones guide covers what Southview's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.