Mead, CO
Mead, CO's wildfire risk, in USFS's own numbers
Mead's 2,244 buildings earn a 54th-percentile wildfire-risk score nationally under USFS's model — modestly above the national average for wildfire risk. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
Fire likelihood alone (USFS's burn-probability figure) ranks Mead at the 56th national percentile — 2 points above its risk-to-structures score, a gap driven by how much is actually built there.
Where Mead's buildings actually sit
Most of Mead's buildings (60.6% of 2,244) fall outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones entirely — that doesn't zero out the score above, it means the risk is regional, not structure-by-structure.
Where Mead ranks
Mead's 54th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 22nd ranking inside Colorado does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 32 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Mead ranks 14,553 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 6,826 by building count (1 is largest). Within Colorado alone, it ranks 369 of 472 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Colorado on its state page.
Mead and the insurance market
Mead's elevated rating (54th 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
Even with 60.6% of Mead outside USFS's Direct and Indirect zones, basic hardening — gutter maintenance, ember-resistant vents — is inexpensive relative to the regional burn-probability risk noted above. Details in the home-hardening guide.
Where Mead's figures come from
Mead's 54th-percentile score and its burn-probability figure both come from the same USFS workbook, documented in the methodology guide. The exposure-zones guide covers what Mead's dominant minimal exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.