Wells, NY
How exposed is Wells to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Wells lands at the 18th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — among the lower wildfire-risk places nationally — a figure built from its 730 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Wells's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 18th percentile nationally.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
Direct exposure dominates in Wells: 90.6% of its 730 buildings, versus 6.7% Indirect and 2.7% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
How Wells compares
Wells's 41st-percentile standing inside New York outpaces its 18th national percentile — this is a hotter spot than most of its own state, even though the state as a whole runs cooler nationally. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Wells ranks 25,976 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 14,335 by building count (1 is largest). Within New York alone, it ranks 767 of 1,289 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New York on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Wells'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.
Hardening a home in Wells
Because Direct exposure dominates in Wells (90.6%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
Where Wells's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 730 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Wells. The exposure-zones guide covers what Wells's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.