Columbus, NM
Columbus, NM's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS scores Columbus at the 34th national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (close to the middle of USFS's national wildfire-risk range), a figure built from 1,121 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Columbus at the 34th national percentile — 0 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Columbus's building exposure, zone by zone
42.9% of Columbus's 1,121 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 34.7% Direct and 22.4% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
Columbus against the rest of the country
Columbus's 34th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 5th ranking inside New Mexico does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 29 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Columbus ranks 20,710 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 11,147 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 471 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Columbus
Columbus's moderate wildfire rating (34th 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.
Hardening a home in Columbus
Columbus's 42.9% 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 Columbus's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 1,121 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Columbus. The exposure-zones guide covers what Columbus's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.