Kirtland AFB, NM
How exposed is Kirtland AFB to wildfire?
USFS scores Kirtland AFB at the 53rd national percentile for wildfire risk to structures (modestly above the national average for wildfire risk), a figure built from 1,744 real buildings rather than raw vegetation cover. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Kirtland AFB at the 53rd national percentile — 1 points below its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Kirtland AFB's buildings actually sit
56.4% of Kirtland AFB's 1,744 buildings fall in USFS's Indirect exposure zone — ember cast rather than direct flame — against 17.1% Direct and 26.5% Minimal. Vent screens and roofing material matter more here than lot clearing alone.
How Kirtland AFB compares
Kirtland AFB's 53rd national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 19th ranking inside New Mexico does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 34 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Kirtland AFB ranks 14,760 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 8,250 by building count (1 is largest). Within New Mexico alone, it ranks 399 of 495 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for New Mexico on its state page.
What this risk score means for insurance
Kirtland AFB's elevated rating (53rd percentile nationally) sits outside the range where wildfire risk alone reshapes an insurance market — still, a homeowner here loses nothing by comparing rates.
What would actually reduce this score
Kirtland AFB's 56.4% 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
Every one of the two percentiles behind Kirtland AFB's 14,760-place national rank traces to USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities dataset — see the methodology guide. For more on what indirect exposure implies beyond Kirtland AFB, see the exposure-zones guide.