West Newton, PA
West Newton wildfire risk explained
Out of every US place USFS scores, West Newton lands at the 31st percentile for wildfire risk to structures — close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range — a figure built from its 1,505 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, West Newton's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 33rd percentile nationally.
West Newton's building exposure, zone by zone
USFS puts 88.8% of West Newton's 1,505 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 11.2% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
Where West Newton ranks
West Newton's risk sits at a similar level relative to Pennsylvania (40th percentile statewide) as it does nationally (31st) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, West Newton ranks 21,852 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 9,153 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 1,205 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
West Newton and the insurance market
West Newton's moderate rating (31st 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 West Newton
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in West Newton (88.8% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
Where West Newton's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind West Newton's 21,852-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what West Newton's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.