West Hazleton, PA
West Hazleton wildfire risk explained
West Hazleton's 1,741 buildings earn a 39th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, West Hazleton's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 38th percentile nationally.
West Hazleton's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS puts 87.5% of West Hazleton's 1,741 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 5.1% Direct and 7.4% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Where West Hazleton ranks
Within Pennsylvania, West Hazleton ranks higher (59th percentile) than it does nationally (39th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, West Hazleton ranks 19,364 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,262 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 814 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
West Hazleton's moderate wildfire rating (39th 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 West Hazleton (87.5% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where West Hazleton's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,741 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for West Hazleton. The exposure-zones guide covers what West Hazleton's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.