Clayton, NM
Clayton wildfire risk explained
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Clayton at the 98th national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 1,940 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Clayton at the 98th national percentile — 0 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Clayton's buildings actually sit
Indirect exposure is dominant in Clayton (85.5% of 1,940 buildings): far enough from burnable vegetation to avoid flame contact, close enough for wind-blown embers. Only 14.5% sit in the Direct zone.
Where Clayton ranks
Clayton scores 98th nationally and 94th 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, Clayton ranks 668 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,645 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 29 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Clayton
Clayton's very high rating (98th percentile) puts it among the places where the national carrier-pullback trend is most relevant — not a guarantee of a coverage problem, but a reason to shop rather than assume.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Clayton's 85.5% Indirect-exposure share points at embers, not flame contact, as the main pathway — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing rank ahead of defensible space here. Detail in the home-hardening guide.
Where Clayton's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,940 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Clayton. The exposure-zones guide covers what Clayton's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.