Valley Falls, NY
Valley Falls wildfire risk explained
Valley Falls sits at the 18th 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 233 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Valley Falls at the 18th national percentile — 0 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
75.1% of Valley Falls's 233 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 24.9% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Where Valley Falls ranks
Compare Valley Falls's two percentiles: 41st within New York, only 18th nationally — a gap of 23 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Valley Falls ranks 25,949 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 23,707 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 765 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Valley Falls
Valley Falls's low wildfire rating (18th 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
Valley Falls's 75.1% 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.
Where Valley Falls's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 233 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Valley Falls. The exposure-zones guide covers what Valley Falls's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.