Haystack, NM
How exposed is Haystack to wildfire?
Haystack sits at the 44th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 102 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Haystack at the 45th percentile, close to its 44th-percentile risk score.
Where Haystack's buildings actually sit
Of Haystack's 102 counted buildings, 99% 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.
Where Haystack ranks
Haystack ranks lower within New Mexico (10th percentile statewide) than its 44th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Haystack ranks 17,653 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 28,965 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 444 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
Haystack and the insurance market
Haystack's elevated rating (44th percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Because Direct exposure dominates in Haystack (99%), 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
Haystack's 44th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. For more on what direct exposure implies beyond Haystack, see the exposure-zones guide.