Desert Hills, AZ
How exposed is Desert Hills to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Desert Hills lands at the 45th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — a figure built from its 2,046 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Desert Hills's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 44th percentile nationally.
Where Desert Hills's buildings actually sit
2,046 buildings are counted in Desert Hills, and 86.6% of them are Indirect exposure — ember-driven risk rather than the 13.4% in Direct exposure or the 0% rated Minimal.
How Desert Hills compares
Desert Hills's 45th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 14th ranking inside Arizona does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 31 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Desert Hills ranks 17,416 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 7,338 by building count (1 is largest). Within Arizona alone, it ranks 381 of 441 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Arizona on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Desert Hills
Desert Hills's elevated wildfire rating (45th 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.
What would actually reduce this score
Desert Hills's 86.6% 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.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 2,046 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Desert Hills. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Desert Hills, see the exposure-zones guide.