Cuartelez, NM
How exposed is Cuartelez to wildfire?
Cuartelez sits at the 68th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — well above the national norm for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 319 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Cuartelez at the 64th national percentile — 3 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
Direct exposure dominates in Cuartelez: 91.5% of its 319 buildings, versus 8.5% Indirect and 0% Minimal. Clearing space around a structure changes the outcome here more than any single building-material swap.
Cuartelez against the rest of the country
Cuartelez's 68th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 39th 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, Cuartelez ranks 10,250 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 21,123 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 305 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Cuartelez
At the 68th percentile nationally, Cuartelez carries the 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
Cuartelez's 91.5% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 319 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Cuartelez. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Cuartelez, see the exposure-zones guide.