Chupadero, NM
Chupadero wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Chupadero at the 93rd national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 277 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Chupadero at the 89th percentile, close to its 93rd-percentile risk score.
What "at risk" means for the buildings here
100% of Chupadero's 277 buildings sit in USFS's Direct exposure zone, roughly 277 structures close enough to burnable vegetation for flame contact, not just embers — 0% fall in the Indirect, ember-only zone and 0% are Minimal.
Where Chupadero ranks
Chupadero scores 93rd nationally and 81st within New Mexico — close enough that its state context doesn't change the picture the national number already gives. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Chupadero ranks 2,106 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 22,298 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 93 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Chupadero
At the 93rd percentile nationally, Chupadero 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
With 100% of Chupadero in Direct exposure, defensible-space clearing and ember-resistant construction (vents, Class-A roofing) address the exposure this page's own numbers describe, not a generic checklist. See the home-hardening guide.
Where Chupadero's figures come from
Chupadero's 93rd-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Chupadero's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.