Jal, NM
Jal, NM's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Jal sits at the 86th percentile nationally for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — per USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities model, built from its 1,760 counted buildings, not vegetation cover alone. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Separately from the risk score above, Jal's burn probability — fire likelihood with no building count factored in — sits at the 85th percentile nationally.
Jal's building exposure, zone by zone
Most of Jal's buildings (72.2%) sit in the Indirect zone, where wind-blown embers rather than flame front are the mechanism USFS is scoring — ember-resistant vents and non-combustible roofing are the interventions this pattern favors, more than defensible space alone.
Jal against the rest of the country
Jal ranks lower within New Mexico (65th percentile statewide) than its 86th national percentile suggests alone — a calmer spot in a state where wildfire risk generally runs high. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Jal ranks 4,540 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,193 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 175 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
Jal and the insurance market
Jal's 86th-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
Jal's 72.2% 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 1,760 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Jal. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Jal, see the exposure-zones guide.