Montezuma, CO
How exposed is Montezuma to wildfire?
Out of every US place USFS scores, Montezuma lands at the 80th percentile for wildfire risk to structures — in USFS's highest wildfire-risk band nationally — a figure built from its 58 buildings, not the land around them. (Source: USFS's Wildfire Risk to Communities methodology.)
USFS's separate burn-probability score — fire likelihood alone, before counting what's built there — puts Montezuma at the 72nd percentile, close to its 80th-percentile risk score.
Where Montezuma's buildings actually sit
USFS classifies 100% of Montezuma's buildings as Direct exposure, higher than its 0% Indirect share and far above its 0% Minimal share — a profile where 58 structures sit close enough to vegetation that lot clearing matters most.
Montezuma against the rest of the country
Montezuma's 80th national percentile looks worse in isolation than its 54th ranking inside Colorado does — this place is on the milder end for its own state, by 26 points. Among the 31,521 US communities USFS scores, Montezuma ranks 6,169 for wildfire risk (1 is highest) and 30,703 by building count (1 is largest). Within Colorado alone, it ranks 216 of 472 places by risk. See the full county-by-county picture for Colorado on its state page.
Shopping for coverage in Montezuma
At the 80th percentile nationally, Montezuma carries the very high rating that has pushed some carriers to limit new business in similarly-scored places elsewhere in the country. Worth comparing quotes rather than assuming last year's renewal terms still apply.
Lowering exposure, not just insuring around it
Montezuma's 100% Direct-exposure share means lot clearing around the structure typically outweighs any single material upgrade here. The home-hardening guide ranks the options for a place shaped like this.
Where Montezuma's figures come from
The methodology guide shows exactly how USFS turned 58 counted buildings into the percentiles shown above for Montezuma. The exposure-zones guide covers what Montezuma's dominant direct exposure actually means, with real examples from across the dataset.