Water Mill, NY
Water Mill, NY's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Water Mill's 3,567 buildings earn a 41st-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 Water Mill at the 39th national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Water Mill's buildings actually sit
Direct exposure dominates in Water Mill: 59.9% of its 3,567 buildings, versus 19% Indirect and 21.1% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Where Water Mill ranks
Compare Water Mill's two percentiles: 85th within New York, only 41st nationally — a gap of 45 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Water Mill ranks 18,754 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 4,695 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 193 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Water Mill
Water Mill's elevated rating (41st percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Hardening a home in Water Mill
With 59.9% of Water Mill 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 Water Mill's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 3,567 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Water Mill. The exposure-zones guide covers what Water Mill's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.