Cotulla, TX
How exposed is Cotulla to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Cotulla lands at the 84th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 2,192 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Cotulla's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 82nd percentile nationally.
Cotulla's building exposure, zone by zone
85.7% of Cotulla's 2,192 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 14.3% Direct and 0% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
How Cotulla compares
There's little gap between Cotulla's 84th national percentile and its 71st percentile inside Texas, which means the state comparison mostly confirms what the national score already shows. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Cotulla ranks 5,211 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,954 by building count (1 is largest). Within Texas alone, it ranks 530 of 1,795 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Texas on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Cotulla's very high rating (84th 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
Because 85.7% of Cotulla'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 Cotulla's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,192 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Cotulla. The exposure-zones guide covers what Cotulla's dominant indirect exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.