Deer Canyon, NM
Deer Canyon, NM's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model puts Deer Canyon at the 87th national percentile for risk to structures, in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a score built from 70 actual buildings. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Deer Canyon's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 83rd percentile nationally.
Where Deer Canyon's buildings actually sit
Of Deer Canyon's 70 counted buildings, 100% carry Direct exposure and only 0% carry Minimal — a lopsided split that puts defensible-space clearing ahead of vents or roofing as the intervention worth doing first.
Deer Canyon against the rest of the country
Deer Canyon ranks lower within New Mexico (67th percentile statewide) than its 87th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Deer Canyon ranks 4,136 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,289 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 164 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Deer Canyon
Deer Canyon's 87th-percentile, very high rating is the kind of score behind a broader national pattern: insurers pulling back from the highest wildfire-risk markets, non-renewing or declining new policies outright, most visibly in California. Shopping around, not assuming automatic renewal, tends to matter here.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Deer Canyon (100%), the highest-leverage fix is defensible space, not roofing or vents alone — covered in the home-hardening guide.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 70 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Deer Canyon. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Deer Canyon, see the exposure-zones guide.