Vail, PA
Vail wildfire risk explained
Vail's 69 buildings earn a 49th-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.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Vail at the 47th 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
USFS classifies 68.1% of Vail's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 31.9% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 47 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Where Vail ranks
Compare Vail's two percentiles: 80th within Pennsylvania, only 49th nationally — a gap of 31 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Vail ranks 16,211 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,333 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 412 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
Vail's elevated rating (49th 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 68.1% of Vail 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 Vail's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Vail's 16,211-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Vail's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.