Sylvan Beach, NY
How exposed is Sylvan Beach to wildfire?
Sylvan Beach sits at the 8th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 951 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Sylvan Beach's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 8th percentile nationally.
Sylvan Beach's building exposure, zone by zone
Indirect exposure is dominant in Sylvan Beach (58.6% of 951 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 38.4% sit in the Direct zone.
Sylvan Beach against the rest of the country
Sylvan Beach scores 8th nationally and 17th within New York — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Sylvan Beach ranks 29,002 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 12,301 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 1,068 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
Sylvan Beach and the insurance market
Sylvan Beach's low rating (8th 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
Sylvan Beach's 58.6% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 951 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Sylvan Beach. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Sylvan Beach, see the exposure-zones guide.