Pennsylvania wildfire risk
Pennsylvania sits in the lower half of US states for wildfire hazard, but lower does not mean none — hazard concentrates locally regardless of the statewide picture. This page covers current activity and how to check your own address.
Active fires in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's recorded fire history
Federal perimeter records list 36 mapped wildfires in Pennsylvania since 2000. The largest on that record is the Hopewell Fire of 2012, which burned 812 acres.
| Fire | Year | Area burned |
|---|---|---|
| Hopewell Fire | 2012 | 812 acres |
Recorded history feeds directly into your address score: our model counts mapped burns within 25 miles of a parcel, weighted toward large ones. It is worth knowing the limitation, though — a long record of successful suppression can leave an area reading quiet while fuel accumulates, which is precisely the condition that produces the next large fire.
Where hazard concentrates in Pennsylvania
Wildfire hazard is not spread evenly across a state. These are the 5 counties in Pennsylvania with the highest wildfire risk scores in FEMA's National Risk Index, with the building value each has sitting in exposed areas.
| County | Hazard score | Building exposure |
|---|---|---|
| Pike County | 71.9 | $3.1B |
| Allegheny County | 60.4 | $73.7B |
| Schuylkill County | 55.6 | $6.6B |
| Bucks County | 55.5 | $6.6B |
| Westmoreland County | 54.0 | $30.0B |
Pike County carries the highest score in the state at 71.9. If your address is there, or in any of the counties above, the statewide average understates your situation considerably — which is the reason to check the parcel rather than the state.
How Pennsylvania ranks nationally
FEMA's National Risk Index scores every US county for expected annual wildfire loss. Across Pennsylvania's 67 assessed counties the average wildfire hazard score is 30.2, which places the state 40th of the 50 states. The most exposed county in Pennsylvania scores 71.9.
Against a 50-state average of 52.7, Pennsylvania sits 22.5 points below it. Rank 40 of 50. The National Risk Index blends how often wildfire is expected with how much is standing in the way, so a state can post a moderate score with severe local hazard wherever development has pushed into the wildland-urban interface.
Roughly $456.7B of building value sits inside Pennsylvania's wildfire-exposed areas. That figure is what drives carrier behaviour: insurers manage concentration of exposure, so a state can have modest average hazard and still see availability problems wherever that value clusters in the wildland-urban interface.
Pennsylvania wildfire season
Pennsylvania sees most wildfire activity during dry spells in spring and autumn, when cured vegetation and low humidity coincide. Activity is generally episodic rather than a sustained multi-month season.
Insurance in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania operates a FAIR Plan or equivalent residual market. Average hazard across the state is moderate, so most homeowners remain in the standard admitted market — but that is a statewide average, and parcels in the wildland-urban interface can face declinations regardless of the state picture.
Residual-market availability and the rules governing it change. Confirm the current position with the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance before you rely on it.
Whatever the market looks like in your area, the sequence is the same: document mitigation before your renewal date, work with an independent broker who can access surplus lines, and ask directly whether the carrier credits wildfire mitigation. The full fire insurance guide covers non-renewal, FAIR Plans and difference-in-conditions wraps in detail.
Lowering your risk in Pennsylvania
The two changes with the best return anywhere in the country are clearing the first five feet around the structure to non-combustible material, and screening vents against ember entry. Both are cheap, both address the mechanism that destroys most homes, and both are visible to an underwriter if you photograph and invoice them. What qualifies and how to document it.