Windber, PA
How exposed is Windber to wildfire?
USFS scores Windber at the 44th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 2,064 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Windber's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 45th percentile nationally.
Where Windber's buildings actually sit
USFS puts 81.1% of Windber's 2,064 buildings in the Indirect exposure zone, versus 18.9% Direct and 0% Minimal — a place where the fire doesn't need to reach the structure directly for embers to.
How Windber compares
Within Pennsylvania, Windber ranks higher (71st percentile) than it does nationally (44th) — one of the more fire-exposed places in a state that, overall, scores lower than that. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Windber ranks 17,663 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,302 by building count (1 is largest). Within Pennsylvania alone, it ranks 584 of 1,991 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Pennsylvania on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Windber
Windber's elevated rating (44th 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 Windber
With ember exposure the dominant pattern in Windber (81.1% Indirect), vent screens and roofing material tend to matter more than lot clearing alone. The home-hardening guide covers both.
More on how this number was built
Windber's 44th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Windber, see the exposure-zones guide.