Casa Colorada, NM
How exposed is Casa Colorada to wildfire?
USFS scores Casa Colorada at the 60th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 268 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Casa Colorada at the 58th national percentile — 2 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
USFS classifies 100% of Casa Colorada's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 0% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 268 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Where Casa Colorada ranks
Casa Colorada ranks lower within New Mexico (30th percentile statewide) than its 60th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Casa Colorada ranks 12,771 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,573 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 349 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
Casa Colorada and the insurance market
Casa Colorada's elevated wildfire rating (60th 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Because Direct exposure dominates in Casa Colorada (100%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
Every one of the two percentiles behind Casa Colorada's 12,771-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Casa Colorada, see the exposure-zones guide.