Watkins Glen, NY
How exposed is Watkins Glen to wildfire?
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Watkins Glen at the 29th national percentile for risk to structures, close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a score built from 1,060 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Watkins Glen at the 29th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
1,060 buildings are counted in Watkins Glen, and 85.8% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 13.2% in Direct exposure or the 1% rated Minimal.
Watkins Glen against the rest of the country
Compare Watkins Glen's two percentiles: 61st within New York, only 29th nationally — a gap of 32 points that marks it as unusually exposed for its own state. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Watkins Glen ranks 22,410 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,522 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 505 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Watkins Glen
Watkins Glen's moderate wildfire rating (29th 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.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Watkins Glen (85.8% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where Watkins Glen's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,060 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Watkins Glen. The exposure-zones guide covers what Watkins Glen's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.