Washington Heights, NY
Washington Heights, NY's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Washington Heights sits at the 42nd percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 785 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Washington Heights's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 43rd percentile nationally.
Washington Heights's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS classifies 54.5% of Washington Heights's buildings as Minimal exposure, the largest of the three zones here by a wide margin over 26.4% Direct and 19.1% Indirect — a landscape-level risk rather than a building-by-building one.
How Washington Heights compares
Compare Washington Heights's two percentiles: 88th within New York, only 42nd nationally — a gap of 45 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Washington Heights ranks 18,225 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 13,772 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 162 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
Washington Heights and the insurance market
Washington Heights'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
Even with 54.5% of Washington Heights outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where Washington Heights's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 785 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Washington Heights. The exposure-zones guide covers what Washington Heights's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.