Balmorhea, TX
Balmorhea wildfire risk explained
Balmorhea sits at the 89th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 394 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Balmorhea's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 88th percentile nationally.
Balmorhea's building exposure, zone by zone
Most of Balmorhea's buildings (75.6%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Balmorhea against the rest of the country
Balmorhea's risk sits at a similar level relative to Texas (82nd percentile statewide) as it does nationally (89th) — this place isn't unusual for its own state either way. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Balmorhea ranks 3,572 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 19,340 by building count (1 is largest). Within Texas alone, it ranks 329 of 1,795 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Texas on its state page.
Balmorhea and the insurance market
At the 89th percentile nationally, Balmorhea carries the very high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because 75.6% of Balmorhea's buildings sit in the Indirect zone, sealing the ember pathway (vents, roofing, gutters) is the intervention this page's data actually supports — see the home-hardening guide.
Where Balmorhea's figures come from
Every one of the two percentiles behind Balmorhea's 3,572-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Balmorhea's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.